Operation: Second Afterlife
by SuperPieFanFictions
Summary: The SSS Battlefront has come to terms with their regrets and passed on. But instead of reincarnation, they are thrown into another world meant to be an afterlife for those who died with regrets at a later age. A world overrun with Shadows. I Do Not Own Angel Beats!. All Rights Belong To Their Respective Owners. /Project Terminated/
1. Obliteration and Resurrection

"If you believe strong enough, we will meet again." And just like that, she was gone. I was left with nothing but my tears. Seeing her rest in peace allowed me to do so as well, but I didn't want to leave; I had no reason to want to in the first place.

But now I had no reason to want to stay either. I closed my eyes, her words still strong in my head. I would see her again. I had to. I was in love. As I closed my eyes, I could see her walking down the street, humming a familiar tune. I turned and, recognizing the tune she sang, reached my hand out to tap her shoulder. And then it all went black.

I opened my eyes. I didn't know how much time had passed since I closed them. In fact, I don't even remember closing them in the first place. What happened in the time between when I closed them, and when I opened them must have surely been a dream. That's what happens when you close your eyes, right? You dream. But, even before they closed, it didn't feel real.

"K-Kanade…" I caught myself speaking a name I had spoken before. _Kanade._ The name was so familiar, but unknown. So close, but so far away. I couldn't see above myself from where I laid, but could vaguely make out a ceiling.

My eyes were only half open as I reached my hand up, trying to grab the name that was slowly drifting away. The girl named Kanade Tachibana. Who was she? I felt like the name was floating into heaven, forever out of my reach. Floating… just like an Angel.

**Chapter 1: Obliteration and Resurrection**

_An Angel!?_

"Good, his pulse has come back." _Where… where am I?_ "Hold on! I still don't know!" _Who is she talking to?_

"Yurippe, we need to check his memories."

"Shut up, Fujimaki! Just focus on his heart!" _My heart? My memories? What are you two talking about?_ "Please stop crying. Everything will be okay. We'll get him to wake up, I promise." _Who's crying?_

"Dammit! It's no good. I can't get through to anyone else. I can't believe they dumped that junk on us!"

"Hey, man, it's all we had. I don't know where the others are, so that thing will have to suffice. Besides, I'm more worried about the fact that we haven't gone home yet."

"We were never supposed to go home. We were supposed to be reborn." _Could you people tell me what in the hell is going on?_ "Just… focus, Fujimaki." _I don't know what's happening. Maybe I should just close my eyes…_ "No, Otonashi stay awake! Don't you dare fall asleep on me! Hinata, try to contact Matsushita the Fifth and T.K. again."

"Alright, but it won't do any good. Either our transmitter is busted, or it's their transceiver. Stupid shotty craftsmanship." _I'm so tired. I should just… rest._

"Yurippe." _That voice! No, don't go to sleep yet!_ "Will Yuzuru still remember me?" _You… what's your name?_

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Otonashi remembers all of us. He has to, otherwise he'll be… Look, let's just pull through. Fujimaki, get ready to force him up."

"Hey, Yuri, are you sure that's such a good idea? We still don't know if we're allowed to die in this world." _Die!? I don't want to die! Whatever you're doing, stop!_

"We have to, Fujimaki! We can't have this moron let her cry anymore. Now, Otonashi, this is an order! Go comfort Kanade!" _Kanade!?_

…

…

…

I shot upwards, sitting in the bed I was just laying down upon. I could feel the sweat running down my face. I heard the joyous shouts of my friends as they ran around the bed and greeted back into the world of the living. It was Hinata, Yuri, Takamatsu, Fujimaki, and Ooyama. And sitting in the corner, eyes wide, with tears trailing down her cheeks… was Kanade.

"Kanade!" I jumped out of the bed, forcing myself passed all of my friends, and ran towards her, dropping to my knees and throwing my arms around her in an embrace. "Kanade!"

"Yuzuru, thank goodness you're alright!" She wrapped her arms around my back and held me tightly. "I thought you weren't going to wake up." I could feel her tears dropping onto my shoulder as she cried. "I thought I had lost you."

"Don't worry, Kanade. I'm here now. Please don't cry." I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back a little, staring into her tear-filled eyes. "I'm here with you, Kanade." She nodded and smiled at me. I stood up and looked back at my other five friends, who were smiling just the same. And that's when it set in. "Wait a minute, what the hell is going on!"

"Oh, I forgot to explain." Takamatsu stepped forward, pushing his glasses up farther on his face. "It would seem that when we were obliterated from the school, we messed up."

"Messed up? How did we mess up?"

"You see, we always thought that when we were obliterated, we would be reincarnated into the real world with a new life. Well, that still seems to be the case; however, since the incident with the Shadow Beasts, the afterlife that housed the school - which we've named the School World - started to fall apart. That's why, in a rush to escape the world before it fell apart completely, we resolved our past failures and regrets, and we're able to rest in peace. But most of Battlefront was sent here. To this world."

"That's right." Now, Fujimaki stepped up, slinging his Shirasaya over his shoulder. "This world is overrun by those Shadow Beasts. Takeyama figured out that since we were the ones to originally fight them in the 'School World', that when we tried to pass on, the programming sent us here instead, to try to purge the last of them from existence. He said if we can defeat every last one of them, we'll be able to pass on."

"But that's where it gets complicated." Hinata stepped up this time, a smile stretching across his face. "We're not exactly sure if we've passed on or not. And if we have, then we're not allowed to die freely like we could in the School World. Dying here might just make us - well, die. With no hope of coming back to fight."

It was so much to take in at one time. My brain could barely process it all. I sat down and leaned back against the wall. I decided to clear my head and finally take in my surroundings. We all stood inside of a small, run down room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made out of wood that was falling apart. It looked really old, like the building had been standing in a rainstorm for 3 years straight. In the corner by the bed, there was a small, cracked window. Next to the bed was a small night stand with a shot to hell communicator sitting on top of it. Past that was a small, wooden door that led to the hallways outside.

"We're currently holed up inside of the building that we arrived at." Yuri spoke now, placing her hands on her hips. "Unlike us, who were awake when we got here, you were out for about 3 days. Unfortunatley, since we arrived, we haven't had contact with Matsushita, T.K., Shiina, Noda, or Yui, as well as the rest of the members of Gldemo, including Yusa. The only one of us that isn't here that we've seen is Takeyama. And only Fujimaki and Takamatsu have actually seen him, since they arrived together."

"Wait, about Ayato?" She gave me a blank look.

"Who's that?"

"Ugh, you know, the vice-president of the student council? Tried killing every last one of you and forcefully obliterate you?" _Are you people stupid?_

"Oh, Naoi? I wasn't aware that he even had a first name." I smacked my hand against my face. _Oh my god, they haven't changed at all!_ "Anyway, we can't stay here for much longer. Now that you're awake and seem to remember everything, we need to move." She looked out the window and then ran to the door. "On my signal, we move."

"Wait, I don't even have my gun with me!"

"GO!" _Crap!_ I grabbed Kanade's hand and pulled her up, gripping her hand tightly and leading her out the door while the others ran out, guns at the ready. As we rounded the corner of the hallway, a Shadow Beast flung itself at Yuri. There were two loud gunshots, a small scream, and then a poof, and the Beast was gone. "Come on, keep moving." We ran down about 10 flights of stairs before we actually got to the door that let outside of the hotel-like building.

"Don't the elevators work in this place?" Resting for three days made me more prone to tiredness. I was already breathing heavy.

"No, it would seem that all technology that was originally made in this world no longer works." _Great, that helps._ Takamatsu pushed his glasses up on his face again. "We have determined that this world is similar to the School World, as in it is a world built for the afterlife. It used to work in the exact same way as our world, but was overrun by these Shadows. Takeyama believes that they are like a virus, running through a system of different afterlives, and wiping out both the Human Souls and NPCs alike."

"Hinata, any luck with the communicator?"

"None at all, Yurippe. What the hell were those guys thinking giving us this old thing?" We stood outside of the hotel and checked our surroundings. "Oh, Otonashi, here." Hinata threw me my old Glock 17. "You're gonna need that." I nodded and loaded the gun, checking every aspect to make sure it would still work. I removed the clip and checked the bullets, made sure it wouldn't jam, clicked the hammer back and forth, and scraped out the barrel with my finger.

"Looks like it's still fine." Yuri looked to the sides of the building, making sure no Shadows were around, and then holstered her gun.

"It doesn't seem like any Beasts are around. For now, we should split up and try to find the rest of the Battlefront forces. Otonashi, Takamatsu, and Kanade, you come with me. We're going north. Hinata, Ooyama, and Fujimaki, you go south. Remember, we don't know if we can freely die in this world or not, so don't make any mistakes. Move out!" Everyone nodded and ran in their own direction.

Kanade gripped my hand tighter as we ran to the north, searching for any sign of the remaining members of Battlefront. We didn't have any run-ins with the Shadow Beasts, but even so, Yuri kept alert the whole time. After about 10 minutes of slow running, we came to a casual, walking pace so we could look for people and listen for gunshots.

"So, Yuri, why did you let Hinata run off with the only communicator? He doesn't seem to want it." He had been calling it a piece of crap, so I thought he wouldn't want it with him.

"Trust me, he wants, and needs, that more than anyone."

"Why's that?"

"Because, ever since we got here, he's been looking for Yui." _That's right. He confessed his love for her right before she disappeared. It was actually that confession that let her pass on._

"But wait, Yui passed on before the Shadow Beasts attacked School World. So maybe she isn't…"

"That's exactly the point. He wants to find her more than anything. Even if it's a broken piece of crap, giving him that communicator is the least I can do to help him. I just hope he doesn't get himself killed looking." _Poor Hinata. I can't even imagine what kind of pain he's feeling right now. Frantically searching for the girl he loves, but can't even risk going after her because it might get the rest of his friends killed._ I felt a tingle in my head. "They're here." I looked up to see over 20 Shadow Beasts beginning to surround us. _I have to help him. He would do the same for me._

"Okay, then." I ran forward, going ahead of everyone else. "Then let's do everything we can…" I pulled my gun out and held it downwards. "To help Hinata, and the rest of Battlefront!"


	2. Finding the Team

_Shadow Being World - South Plaza_

"Hinata, how are you on bullets?"

"I'm fine, Ooyama, thanks." Hinata held his pistol in one hand, pointed to the sky. In the other hand, he held a small, black, plastic communicator. He fumbled with the buttons on it, trying to get a better signal. "Damn, this thing. Hey, Fujimaki, are you sure they have the other one?"

"For the last time, Hinata. The note that was under it said 'Take this when you get here and use it to contact us. We have the other communicator with us. Just press the button and say the Battlefront Headquarters passphrase'. I don't know what else to tell ya." Hinata sighed and put the little box into his pocket.

"Guess it's no use moaning about it. At this rate, it'll be easier to ditch the thing and just look on foot."

"Uh, yeah, that's what we're doing right now." Fujimaki, Hinata, and Ooyama continued to travel south, looking for any signs of their friends. "Uh oh… That's a familiar feeling." They looked around and saw the Shadow Beasts surrounding them. "Get ready, you guys! This is gonna be damn fun!" Fujimaki pulled his Shirasaya apart, revealing the newly-polished blade. "Bring it on you ugly freaks!"

"Don't go too crazy, Fujimaki." Hinata aimed his gun and smiled as he pulled the trigger. "You at least want to make it a far fight." After about 20 shots and slashes, the Shadow Beasts dispersed into nothingness. "Ha, that was too easy."

"No kidding. Almost a waste of bullets, huh Hinata?" Fujimaki re-sheathed his Shirasaya. He always took pride in his sword skills. "Now if we can just- uh, hey. What's that?" He pointed to the ground, at a small piece of tan cloth. Hinata ran over to where he pointed and picked it up the object in question.

"It's… part of a uniform!"

**Chapter 2: Finding the Team**

_Shadow Being World - Northwest Plaza_

We went down the steps of the large, square shaped plaza. There were plants lining the corners and flowers growing around the handrails. In the center of the dip in the ground that made the plaza, was a large, circular fountain. It sprayed a large jet of water from the center, with smaller jets surrounding it.

"Interesting that this still works. I thought that electricity was shut off in this place."

"There must be exceptions to the rules. Perhaps the Shadows viewed this as necessary?" Takamatsu took his shirt off and began to sparkle.

"Wait, why are you stripping!?"

"That's not likely. I can't sense any malice around here. That probably means that the Beasts haven't gotten this far north yet. Most of the areas around the middle of the town, like the hotel, are completely wrecked. But they're also surrounded by the Beasts. The buildings and objects probably fall apart just by being in the same general area as them. That could be why the communicator is almost busted." Yuri still held her gun downwards, ready for an attack at any time.

"So, that could mean that the Shadow Beasts aren't around here?"

"Which would also mean that this would be a good place to look for Shiina and the others." Yuri finally exited her battle stance and put her gun away. "Alright, stay close in case of an attack. Takamatsu, you go search around over there." She pointed in some random direction. "Otonashi, take Kanade and go search some of the buildings in the area. Be careful, don't take any risks, got it?" I nodded and walked to one of the buildings with Kanade. They were in good shape, at least compared to the hotel.

Most of the buildings were completely empty, except for a few pieces of furniture here and there. A couch, a chair, a table, maybe a fridge. I was going to take some of the food, but it was all way past the expiration dates. I sighed as I closed yet another fridge with nothing edible inside.

"Man, aren't there any supplies at all?" I looked over at Kanade, who had been strangely quiet the whole time. "Kanade. You alright?" She nodded.

"I'm fine, just a little hungry is all."

"Oh, well sorry about that. I'd get you some food, but sadly everything we've found isn't edible anymore." _Good, it doesn't look like she's all that traumatized by this whole experience._ "Ok, well I think we've searched all we can, we should get back to Yuri and Takamatsu. Hopefully they had more luck than us." She nodded again and followed me outside as we headed back to the plaza. _I guess it isn't all that weird that she's quiet. She's more of a 'speaks-when-spoken-to' kind of person anyway._

"Yuzuru… Can I-" She started to speak but was interrupted by three loud gunshots that came from the plaza where Yuri and Takamatsu were. I grabbed her hand.

"Come on!"

_Shadow Being World - South Plaza_

Hinata held the tan piece of cloth in his hands.

"This is a torn part of an SSS uniform!"

"No way! One of those Shadows must have had it. Maybe that means that one of our own is nearby. Ooyama, come with me and let's search some buildings." Fujimaki ran towards a random building off in the distance.

"Uh, right!" Ooyama followed behind him, going to search for his friends. Hinata's head shot around frantically as he looked for another clue to the whereabouts of his friends. _There's got to be something else!_ He ran down into the center of the plaza to the fountain.

"Come on… Even if it's not you, I have to find whoever it is that was around here." He gripped the torn piece of cloth in his hands, upset that it wasn't white, which would mean that it wasn't a female uniform. "Grrh, Matsushita the Fifth! T.K.! Anyone!" There was no response, only silence. He pulled out his gun and walked up the stairs on the other side of the plaza, walking towards a small area of trees.

"Hinata!" Fujimaki's voice came from behind him. He shouted frantically, running towards Hinata. "Hinata, check this out!" After he got to Hinata, he handed him a small, black, box. Not unlike the one they had with them. "The way this is going, I doubt we'll be able to find them very easily." Hinata fell to his knees and punched the ground.

"Damn it all. Just when I thought we were close to finding something."

"Well, for now, we should head east or west, I doubt anyone's going to be around here anymore." Hinata stood back up and turned back to the way they came, walking with a slow pace. "Hey, Hinata. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Yurippe and Otonashi." He walked for a bit, but then stopped in midstride. "Oh, damn. Here they come again. Persistent, aren't they?" A couple of feet away, stood more of the Shadow Beasts. They lunged at Hinata with great speed. He pulled out his gun and repeatedly shot one until it disappeared, but as he shot more, the gun ran empty. "Oh, damn!" As the last few lunged at Hinata, Fujimaki drew his Shirasaya at ran to help his friend.

"Hinata!" As he ran, three black streaks flashed by each of the Beasts, making them all disappear in an instant. "Wait, what the hell? That couldn't have been…" He looked around for the source of the attacks before his eyes settled on it. And there she stood, a girl with half of her face hidden by a scarf, holding a small sword by her side.

"This is so stupid." Fujimaki grinned widely, and Hinata did as well.

"Shiina."

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Northwest Plaza_

"Yuri!" I ran into the plaza and to the large fountain, searching for the source of the gunshots. "Come on, you guys, what the hell?" Two more gunshots went off around the bridge that led to another section of the town. I grabbed Kanade's hand again and ran towards the sounds. I didn't know why I was leading her everywhere, she was perfectly capable of defending herself. But she didn't complain about it either way.

"Yuzuru… They're coming." Three Beasts jumped out of the ground at us. I quickly pulled out my pistol and unloaded the entire clip into them, making them disappear into thin air. I gripped Kanade's hand tighter and ran ahead. "There isn't going to be an end to them unless we can find the rest of your friends."

"No, Kanade." I looked back at her and smiled as we ran. "_Our_ friends. Don't worry, Kanade. I'm sure that nobody thinks of you as an enemy anymore." She nodded and smiled. It may have sounded like I was only trying to comfort her, but I truly believed that everyone wanted to be her friend as much as I did. "Well, it looks like we lost Yuri and Takamatsu, so I guess we should take a break?"

"Sure, okay." We sat down on a bench that was near the bridge. I reloaded my gun so I could be prepared to protect Kanade in case more of them came. "Hey, Yuzuru…"

"What is it, Kanade?"

"Are you… upset?" I gave her a questioning look.

"Uh, no. Why would I be?"

"Because you are here, you have to fight more. Before we disappeared from the school, you thought you weren't going to have to fight anymore." It made sense actually. Me, Yuri, Ayato, Hinata, and Kanade, all five of us didn't want to fight anymore. But now we're in this world, with no easy way out in sight. _I wonder how Yuri must be feeling._ "So, are you upset?"

"No, of course not. After all, I get to stay with you, don't I? That's more than I could ever ask for." She seemed surprised by my confession and even blushed a little bit. She layed her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I decided that I was going to enjoy our little moment of peace as long as I could. But even so, I was interrupted. Three more of the Shadow Beasts popped out of the ground and attacked us without hesitation. I wasn't prepared for it, and had let down my guard. "Kanade!' I grabbed her and pushed her down, shielding her body with my own. I thought I was done for. Just as the Beasts got close to us, I closed my eyes, bracing for the attack. But it stopped.

I opened my eyes again and looked up to see a tall man wearing a tan shirt and black pants, holding twin pistols in the monster's face. He had blonde hair, and a red bandana wrapped around his forehead. The creatures had stopped in their tracks as he pointed his guns at them.

"I kiss you." He rapidly pulled the triggers, making the guns flash off on after the other. As the last one jumped at him, it was blown away by a rapid firing gun from the side. The man holding that gun was tall, and oddly skinny. At least, skinnier than he used to be. The Judo master slung his machine gun over his shoulder and walked towards us, a smile across his face.

We had found Matsushita and T.K.

* * *

_Southern Part of Shadow World - Hotel Grande_

"So, this is where you've been hiding at?" Hinata, Fujimaki, and Ooyama stepped into the small room of the hotel that had been made into a temporary base for Battlefront's resident ninja.

"I assure you, I'm not hiding."

"Well, whatever you were doing, you seem to be doing right. Have you had any contact with anyone else?" Hinata asked her in a calm enough way, but everyone, including Shiina, knew he was bothered by something.

"I'm sorry, no. I arrived alone. Could one of you explain what's happening?" Hinata began to explain what they had to do in order leave this world, as well as what had happened when they found peace.

"But, we have to be careful, we don't know if we can die." Shiina sighed.

"This is so stupid."

"But anyway, we have to focus on finding everyone else now. Hey, Ooyama, give me that cloth."

"Oh, right. Here you go, Hinata." Ooyama took the torn piece of cloth and handed it to Hinata, who turned and gave it to Shiina.

"Here, we found this near the plaza. Do you think you can find out whose it is?" Shiina took the small piece of cloth in her hand and studied it for a while before shaking her head. "Well, damn. That sucks. Oh, and incidentally, were you the one that left that other communicator? She shook her head again. "You know, you could talk more."

"Anyway," Fujimaki grabbed his Shirasaya and walked toward the door, "we need to get back to searching for the rest of Battlefront. Ooyama, let's go."

"Huh? Oh, okay. Coming." The "Jack-of all-Trades" member followed his friend out of Shiina's hideout. Now, only Hinata and Shiina stood in the room.

"Hideki. We'll find her, alright?" Shiina turned and looked at him, a worried look cast in her eyes. Hinata nodded and sat down on the couch, interlacing his fingers and placing them in front of his face, with his elbows resting on his knees. The shadows in the room hid his eyes, but she could still see his tears trail down his cheeks.


	3. Leads and Discoveries

I Put It In The Document Manager, But Never Posted It -_- *Facepalm* Well, Here's 3! Enjoy.

* * *

"Matsushita, T.K. We found you!" I stood up and greeted my newly found friends.

"Just wild to heaven, man."

"Uh, yeah… Wild to heaven."

"Boy am I glad to see you guys. I was beginning to think it was just us is this messed up hell. So, is it just you, then?" Matsushita talked as if he hadn't seen anyone else, which freaked me out a little. For one major reason.

"Wait, haven't you guys seen Yuri and Takamatsu? They were supposed to be around here. We split up at that plaza."

"Oh, uh, no I haven't seen them. We just came running over here when we heard the gunshots."

"We came here after hearing gunshots, too. Wasn't that you two?"

"No, we haven't left the building a couple of blocks down the road past this bridge." Our conclusions were reached at the same time. Yuri and Takamatsu were missing. "Oh, damn. Do you think the Shadows go them?"

"Crazy, crazy, dude."

"No, Yuri is way too skilled to be taken over by one of them. But I can't say the same for Takamatsu, though." _That's right, Takamatsu's been taken over before. Damn, we find two and lose two at the same time._ "Oh, by the way, did you guys leave that communicator at the hotel?"

"Communicator? No, I'm afraid not."

"Damn, well what about people? Have you seen anybody else at all?"

"No, we only got here a couple of days ago." _Damn, this isn't good. Yuri, Takamatsu, where ARE you?_

**Chapter 3: Leads and Discoveries**

_Shadow Being World - Western Gates_

The gates shook loudly, as if they were being pushed. They rattled back and forth, making a loud clanging sound. No matter how much they moved, they didn't budge a single inch outwards. They were almost frozen in place, inoperable without the right keys.

"Damn, this sucks!" There was another loud bang, like metal clashing against metal. "If you won't open, I'll just have to cut you down!" There were more loud bangs as the man swung his large halberd down upon the exterior of the gate. "Damn, this is just great. I can't find any damn way out of this place, Yurippe's nowhere to be found, and to make it all worse…" The man looked over at his sleeping companion, who lay upon a wooden bench, his hat covering his eyes. "I'm stuck with this annoying brat the whole time." The man dropped his weapon and leaned back against the gate, staring up at the sky. "Dammit Yuri, where are you?"

* * *

_Shadow Being World - School Building_

Yuri opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, not knowing what had happened. One moment, she was running with Takamatsu, shooting at the Shadow Beasts. And the next moment, she was waking up inside of a building.

"Takamatsu?" There was no response as she shouted for her friend. She was alone inside this building. She stood up, brushing herself off and picked up her gun. _Damn, what the hell is going on?_ She began to wonder if her friend had been swallowed by the Shadows again. If he had, then she had lost one of her allies. "Takamatsu! If you're here, answer me!"

After not getting a response a second time, she began to walk down the staircase that was near her. She held her gun up, read for an attack at any time. She maneuvered throughout the building with expert stealth, making sure not to alert any enemies that could be around to her location.

She searched everywhere. She went in every room, every closet. Behind every desk, through each hallway, and down every flight up steps. She came up empty handed no matter where she went. Her friend didn't seem to be in the same building. Now she was alone.

"I wonder…" She placed her gun under her own chin, her finger waiting patiently on the trigger. _If this world really is another after life, wouldn't that mean that death is allowed? If we could die, where would we go? Maybe this world will reject us as fighters and reincarnate us. That would be forced obliteration._

"Yuri!" She turned as she heard her name get shouted into the air. It came from outside, and echoed throughout the entire building. She ran to the windows of the classroom she was when and inspected, but found nothing. She ran outside and to the main lobby, looking for anyone.

"Yurripe!" Another voice rang throughout the large lobby. Yuri slid down the railing, riding it all the way to the bottom of the steps to the doors of the school.

She ran out into the courtyard, looking for the source of the voices, but saw no one. _What the hell is going on around here?_ She walked behind the large school building. On the outside, it was falling apart, almost like the hotel.

"That means that I'm deeper into town. How far did I go?" She raised her gun and fired three shots into the air, trying to alert anyone to her position. She began to walk, but froze before she could take a step. She felt her entire body tingle, and could feel her very soul being sucked out. A telltale sign of the Shadow Beast's presence.

Yuri gripped her gun tightly and prepared for the attack. As the Shadow Beasts began to appear from the ground, she shot at them. Most of them faded before they even fully showed themselves, thanks to Yuri's expert shooting. But even she couldn't take on this many alone. They began to pour out of the ground at a faster and faster rate, and within seconds she became outmatched. Not only that, but she was running low on bullets. They had all bunched into area in front of her. _If only I had had a grenade…_

Then, there was a few loud clanging sounds that came from the around Shadow Beasts, and then a bright flash of light surround them. It engulfed every last of them, and within seconds, they vanished. They didn't die like they normally did when shot. Instead of vanishing in thin air, it was like they disintegrated and their remains were vaporized. _What the hell was that?_

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Central Area_

Hinata ran, looking for any signs of his lost companions. Near him, along the rooftops, he could hear the muffled footsteps of his ninja friend as she searched from above. _It's a good thing we found Shiina. That'll make this easier for everyone._

Shiina continued to run, looking for anyone that they could find. Fujimaki and Ooyama had decided to stay back at the hotel that Shiina was staying at so that they could have a rendezvous point. She looked at her friend as he ran down the street. She knew full well that he was looking for one person in particular. So, she decided to help him. She smiled to herself and continued to run down the rooftops.

They hadn't made any progress, nor had they found the slightest clue as to where her friends could be. They could hear gunshots echoing all around them, a sure sign that there friends were okay, and either fighting or trying to give their position to allies. But it wasn't working. The town that made up most of the world was large, and had a lot of surfaces that could echo sound. Even with her ultra-sharp hearing, she couldn't make out the actual direction they came from, let alone the exact location.

"Hinata! Let's take a break!" She yelled down to her friend, who responded by nodding and slowing his pace. They had been running for a straight hour, and still hadn't found anything. _Where is everyone…?_

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Northern Gates_

"What do you mean it won't open!?" This was getting frustrating.

"Like, I said. We came here about two days ago to try and find a good place to make a hideout, and we found this. Only problem is, no matter how much we push it, it won't budge." Matsushita proceeded to push against the metal bars with all his might, but to no avail. "We need some sort of key or something."

"What is the, some kind of video game?"

"Wild, just wild, man." I decided to ignore T.K.'s random English input, and focused on what to do next. _We obviously have to do something with this gate. It has to lead somewhere._

"Kanade, do you think you could do something about it?" She shook her head.

"No, this gate is made of extremely sturdy material that isn't existent in the School World. It would be a lot a harder to destroy than the holding cell."

"I see, well that sucks." _She's been acting strange…_

"Find the keys, unlock the gate. Save the cheerleader, save the world." _Great, now he's quoting bad television…_ I looked around for a while, trying to find any clues, but of course I found nothing. Then Matsushita and T.K. took defensive poses.

"Uh- Hey, what are you two doing?"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"Coming in the air tonight!"

"That feeling like your soul's being sucked out." Then they began to pour from the ground. Shadow Beasts popped up all around us, preparing to attack. Somehow, they were able to sense their presence. I couldn't feel anything. Kanade gripped the sleeve of my jacket. _What is going on with you, Kanade? You never act like this. Are you… scared?_

"Here they come, dudes!" They all lunged at us, all at the same time. Matsushita whipped his machine gun around and fired a load of bullets into the crowd of them, and T.K. blasted away at them with his pistols. I pulled my gun out and began to shoot as well, blasting each one of them away into thin air.

We kept shooting them, but there were too many. One slid past Matsushita's reign of bullets, past T.K.'s shots, and up to me. It rose what I thought was an arm, and struck Kanade.

"Kanade! You bastard!" I shoved my gun deep into its body and fired rapidly, unleashing every bullet into it. After it vanished, I threw my gun to the ground and scooped her into my arms. "Kanade, are you alright?"

"I'm… fine."

"You're not hurt are you?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, thank God." This was getting to be too much. I wouldn't be able to stand it if Kanade got hurt, even if we couldn't die in this world.

"In any case, we should get going. We need to find Yurippe." I nodded, and stood up to follow my two friends, with Kanade following right behind me. We walked for what seemed like miles and miles, with no real destination in mind. We aimlessly wandered the streets and sidewalks, looking for some sort of clue as to where our friends could be. _We've lost more people than we've found. This is not good. At all._ We walked a little bit more than we already had, when Matsushita and T.K. stopped again, pulling their guns up to attack.

"They're here." Multiple Shadows Beasts came up from all sides of us, and the others couldn't take care of everything in front, so I pulled out my pistol again and shot at them. Then, Kanade screamed. I turned to see another one coming toward her. But she didn't attack. She just put her hands over her head and screamed. _Kanade… what are you…?_ I pointed my gun and killed the Beast.

"Kanade… why didn't you… activate Guard Scale?" She began to cry, her hands still cupped over her ears.

"I can't. I just can't, Yuzuru."

* * *

Woot! How Strange. She _Can't_ Activate Guard Scale? *Yes, I Call It "Guard Scale", Because It Sounds Cooler Than "Guard Skill"* Look Forward To The Next Chapter!


	4. Death Is Unforgiving, But So Is Life

Oh my god, Fandom! Welcome back to the story that had to be put on hold for two and a half months! As much as it hated me to do it, I had to focus on other things, and I couldn't pull off three stories at once. But, I hope you can forgive me with this Chapter that has been filled with epic-osity. We will introduce a new type of Shadow Beast today, so get ready for that. Well, Chapter Four, Everyone. Enjoy.

* * *

I stared at the small, frightened girl in utter shock, the fullness of her words not quite settling into my mind the right way. _You… can't?_ I mind began to race, thinking of every possible meaning those words could have implied. Can't activate Guard Scale? Too scared to do it? In the midst of my fast paced thoughts, I fell down.

"Oh… man." I placed my hand over my forehead and rubbed my temples with my palm, a small headache starting to form in my brain. "Kanade… what do you mean… you _can't_?" She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to stop crying, but to no avail.

"I started to realize it since I first arrived in this world… but I don't think I have the ability to activate my weapons."

"Wild ride, dude."

"So, wait. What does that mean? If she can't fight anymore then why did the system send her here? I thought the SSS came here to purge it." _That's right… if Kanade can't fight, then there's no reason for her to be here._ "I mean-"

Matsushita's question was cut off by an extremely loud, extremely high pitched scream, almost like a storm of locusts blasting by you in a split second. We looked over towards the source of the blood-curdling scream, only to see something truly horrific.

**Chapter 4: Death Is Unforgiving, But So Is Life**

_Shadow Being World - Western Plaza_

"I'm just saying that if we want to find our friends, it would be best to stick together." Noda was starting to get annoyed. _Very_ annoyed. So annoyed, in fact, that if the black capped kid would have said one more thing, he might have snapped.

"Listen, you little brat. First thing: they're my friends, not yours! And second thing: I don't care what's better to find them, I don't want to be stuck searching with you!"

"Unfortunatley, you don't have much of a choice. God's will is final."

"_Will you stop saying that!?_"

* * *

_Shadow Being World - School Courtyard_

The flash went off in an instant, with no warning or delay. It engulfed each and every last one of the enemies in sight and sent them into oblivion. It was much more effective than a gun could ever be. But the source was unknown. It could have been friend or foe. With that in mind, Yuri picked her gun back up and aimed it forward.

"Don't worry, we come in peace." The small, blonde haired girl walked forward and offered her hand to Yuri. "You ok, boss?" Yuri smiled and placed her gun down, then gratefully took her friend's hand for some unneeded help standing.

"Just fine, Yusa. I'm guessing that bomb was the work of our great inventor?" She looked over to the other figure that slowly formed in the distance. Chaa, the resident inventor of the SSS appeared with a smile and waved.

"Yes. Chaa has invented a number of very effective weapons to use against the Shadow Beasts. These light flash bombs are among the most effective, however." Chaa's smile wrenched into a small frown.

"Haha, nice to see that you're safe Yurippe. Are you the only one here?"

"Yeah, though I'm not sure why. One minute I was walking with Takamatsu near the North Gates, and the next I was waking up in the building." _But that's what the strange thing is. Based off the appearance of the place, I'm pretty deep into town. How'd I move so far away without realizing anything?_ "At any rate, we need to scan the area for Takamatsu. Be on guard."

* * *

_Shiina's Hideout - Inside the Room_

The door swung open to reveal two very tired people. Shiina and Hinata walked in and just about fell over.

"Guys, you're back. Any luck searching?" Ooyama touched on a light subject. Without a response, Hinata dragged his feet to the couch and fell down it, burying his face inside the, relatively well-kept, cushions. "I guess not…"

"Well, we still don't know how big this world is. It's only natural that we don't find much on the first few searches, right?" Fujimaki immediately figured that he had said something stupid. He confirmed that it was stupid when Hinata jumped up again and walked out the door. "Oh, come one, Hinata! Hey, _Hinata_!"

"This is so stupid."

Fujimaki ran down the hallway after his friend that took off on his own again. Before Hinata could make it out of the building, he was tripped by a very large wooden sword sheathe hitting him in the legs.

"_Ouch_! Goddammit, Fujimaki!" Without responding, we flipped Hinata onto his side and grabbed his collar.

"Listen up, Hinata. You're not going to get anywhere by going off on your own! Don't act so childish. Going out there with nobody to back you up is a rookie mistake! One that I won't let you make, you understand me?" Hinata sat and quietly listened to Fujimaki, who let him go after about a minute of silence.

Now, Hinata layed on the ground without moving, trying to just take a break. _Yui… where are you?_

Then, the sound of glass shattering, a loud scream that sounded a lot like Ooyama, glass falling to the ground outside the door, and the muffled footsteps of a girl running towards the broken window. A serious of sounds that sent Fujimaki into the highest pinnacle of rage he had felt in a long time.

"_OOYAMA!_" He grabbed his Shirasaya off the ground and bolted through the door, chasing after the Shadow Beasts that now had possession of his friend.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Northern Gates_

It was huge, at least three kilometers tall, and probably six or seven long. It was in the form of something like a lizard, or a crocodile, or some horrific combination of the two. It was black, and had gigantic red eyes like that of the shadow beasts. Its mouth took up most of its face, and when it opened it, at least 70 pitch black teeth the size of small homes showed. The only sound it created was the same blood-curdling scream that alerted us to its presence.

Except for that, the only other sounds were the extremely fast rate of fire from Matsushita's Gatling gun, the blasts from T.K.'s pistols, and the monster's feet smashing into the ground. I looked at Kanade, who had resumed her cowering in fear pose. _She can't stay here! WE can't stay here!_

"Running low on bullets, Otonashi!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" I stared at the massive creature that made its way towards us, getting ever so closer with every step it took. "That thing is too strong to kill with the supplies we have at the moment, we need to fall back!"

"Wild to heaven, dudes!"

"Erg… Agreed! Let's get the hell out of here!" I scooped Kanade up into my arms and readied myself to run. "We'll go when this Gatling stops moving!" I paused and listened to the spinning of the gun, and as soon as it stopped, I dashed. I could hear Matsushita and T.K. following right behind me as we ran down the bridge, running to wherever we could to get away from whatever that thing was.

"What do you suppose that is?"

"Probably a smasher."

"A smasher? What the hell is that?"

"Typically a mindless creature that's used to cause great damage upon foes. Easily trained beasts with as much power as a boss type monster."

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Just keep running!" I did as he said, trying to ignore what sounded like online gamer talk. _Smasher? Makes sense I guess. It is smashing…_ Needless to say, we didn't get very far from it by just running, and bullets weren't stopping it any. It was like a gigantic concrete wall that was reinforced with steel, and that could move like a freight train. "Dammit, running way to low on bullets!" Matsushita had decided to drop his Gatling on the ground so he could run faster, and had resorted to using a pistol.

"Not looking good, dudes!" T.K. was also low on bullets it seemed. And he was right; it was _not_ looking good at all. Kanade was still cowering in my arms, so I couldn't do anything but run away. "Head for cover, dudes!" Taking T.K.'s advice, I sharply turned into the closest alleyway, with Matsushita and T.K. following right behind me.

"Guys, behind those dumpsters!" Ahead of us were two large dumpsters. I ran towards them as fast as I could and ducked behind one. Matsushita took the other one and T.K. got behind mine with me. "Now stay quiet."

We waited in silence, hoping whatever it was wouldn't find us. We could hear every single one of its footsteps drawing closer to us. It sounded like it was right on top of us. Then the noise stopped. It was completely silent. But we knew where it was. Its head was right in front of the alley we were in. It was looking for us.

"Yuzuru…" Her muffled voice came from under me as I ducked behind the dumpster.

"Shhhh." I peeked out my head ever so slightly trying to look at it. Up close, it was a lot freakier than I had originally thought. The thing was downright hideous. It threw its head into my direction, but I ducked away before it could see me.

Then it did something that scared my wits right out of me. I heard a snort, like it was blowing its nose. Then it made some strange noise, like a quieter version of its scream. And then… it lifted its head high up and put it back down, opening its mouth to attack. A large, wide, red beam shot straight through the worn out buildings next to us and created a large hole in them. It lasted for three whole minutes, at least. And the noise was almost deafening.

After it was over, we listened to the beast snort again and walk away, seemingly contempt with what he had done. But even when we could no longer here the footsteps of the thing, we didn't move. It was another ten minutes until Matsushita stood up, kicking away the debris that rained on top of us.

"Okay… I think he's gone you guys." Assuming he was right, I stood up and put Kanade on her feet, then kneeled down in front of her.

"Kanade… are you alright?"

"I… I think so…" She sobbed a little bit and wiped her eyes. It might have been a strange, and even slightly rude, thought. But she looked kind of cute at that moment. The first time I saw her cry was right before she obliterated herself. That was just saddening because it was our last moment together in that world.

But looking at her now, it was like she was a normal child, crying when something bad happened. Kanade was never good at expressing emotions, but seeing her like this made me believe that she had the ability to be a normal girl, and have a normal life. She didn't deserve all this fighting and monsters.

"Kanade…" I hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry you've been dragged into all of this. I swear I'm going to fix whatever needs to be fixed so that you can finally rest in peace." She sobbed and nodded her head. "We all deserve better than this, you guys. We're going to find our friends and purge this world of those beasts permanently."

They both nodded in agreement, and started to walk down the alley. Although we couldn't tell if it was night or not, since the sun and moons were seemingly non-existent, we needed to find a place to hide out and sleep. I was extremely tired.

Unfortunatley, we had been running for about half an hour, so the place that Matsushita and T.K. had found was long gone and out of the question, so we just decided to sleep in another random building.

With our sleeping arrangements out of the way (we all just slept in the floor), I took my place and closed my eyes. Kanade fell asleep in my arms, with her head planted on my chest. I decided then and there that I would make a better life for her. Even if it cost me my own life.

* * *

Yuzuru's such a nice guy, isn't he? Hope you enjoyed it and I am _so, so,_ sorry for this long of a wait. I hope you can forgive me! Until Next Time~

(Side Note: The 'Smasher' As It Is Now Known Has A Very "Zelda-y" Vibe Going On. Its Form, Is That Of A Dodongo From Ocarina of Time And Majora's Mask. Imagine King Dodongo, The Second Dungeon Boss Of OoT, But About Ten Times Bigger. It's Color Is Not A Solid Black, It's More Like Black And White Transitioning Every Second. Much Like How Midna Is Colored In The Twilight Princess When She Equips That Twilight Helm And Turns Into A Spider To Kick Zant's Ass. Boss Mode. Very Boss Mode Indeed.)


	5. Call Me, Christ

_Shadow Being World - Southern Gate_

"How did I…?" The small, glasses wearing boy opened his eyes and yawned. He was lying flat on his back, with no recollection of how he happened to get where he was. "This is most strange." He blinked at the sight of the moonless, sunless, cloudless sky. It was dark, but he still felt like it was nighttime.

And so, Takeyama lifted himself up into a sitting position, and placed his hand over his forehead. He rubbed his temples, trying to think of what had happened before he passed out.

"I was… walking around with that girl… and that fishing maniac from the School World's river." It was all he could remember. "This is quite annoying." He looked around for the pack he had been carrying with him, which oddly enough was quite far from his current location.

He stood up and staggered a little bit since he couldn't quite get back the feeling in his legs. He figured he must have been asleep for about two to three days, meaning he would have to get used to walking again. His bag was only a few meters away, but it took almost two whole minutes to get to it. He grumbled about not being able to walk right was a pain, and then picked his bag up off the ground.

"Now I have to make sure it still works…" He unzipped the bag and pulled out his portable laptop computer. Without even bothering to sit down, he placed one arm under it and opened it up. He clicked some of the buttons, and then the power button. Nothing he pushed seemed to be effective at all, and he concluded that the Shadow Being World's atmosphere had broken it, just as it seemingly did with every piece of electronics.

**Chapter 5: Call Me, Christ**

Takeyama. Code Name: Christ. The SSS Battlefront's superb, genius hacker. Able to hack any computer, website, or program in under five minutes. Not very good at any form of combat, he is mostly far behind the front lines collecting data for Yui along with Yusa. But this time, he was completely by himself.

The two people he had been traveling with were now nowhere to be found, and had no way to defend himself from an attack. All he had with him was a couple of the light bombs that Chaa had given him when they ran into each other. But they had limited uses, so he would have to save them for extreme emergencies.

"As much as it pains me to do so…" He sighed and closed his laptop, and then walked over to the bridge that was near him. He closed his eyes in remorse and slowly held the computer over the railing, and then dropped it down below. "It would have been dead weight." He started to walk down the bridge when something behind him rang in his mind. He had seen it when he walked onto the bridge, but he hadn't had any thought about its strangeness.

It was a large gate. Not just large, it was gargantuan. Bigger than any gate he had ever seen in his life. It was least 2 kilometers tall, and each door was about 7 meters long. It was designed in the average shape of any normal gate; straight at the bottom and on the sides, and then almost straight at the top, but with a large hump in the middle that helped to separate the door. It had an elegant design inside the doors, which was made up of small metal pipes weaving around to stop people from walking right through it. It was a very beautiful object, but something about it was off.

"It's not connected to anything." It was a gate, and it was standing perfectly still, but there was no wall connected to it. Automatically knowing that it was strange, Takeyama decided to test it out. He walked back up the bridge, heading towards this enigmatic gate. "What is with this?"

He grabbed one of the bars inside the door and began to shake it. It shook, but wouldn't open. It rattled like any gate would do if it was shook. But it was like it was locked. Takeyama felt like he was genuinely confused for the first time in his life.

He decided to walk next to the gate to where something like a large stone wall should have been. He reached his hand out, trying to put it passed where the gate would be if it was in front of him. Before he was able to outstretch his arm all the way, it was stopped flat. If there was a wall there, it was invisible to any normal human eye.

Takeyama reached into his bag once again and pulled out a small black box, and then took the box back over to the gate, and set it on the ground. He then lightly tapped the top, which made the box open and shoot a bright, yellowish light up into the sky.

"That should just about to it." He fixed his glasses up onto his face and began to walk away.

_Shadow Being World - Eastern Sector_

"Hey guys… where exactly _are_ we?" I was starting to get tired already, and I could tell that Kanade was as well. Matsushita and T.K. still had their guns out ready for an attack, but that's not something I could worry about at the moment.

"Well, we started at the North Gate, and that Smasher was to the our left, meaning it was to the west, so we ran down the street to the right - or the east - for about three and a half miles. So I'm guessing somewhere in the east." Matsushita gave a pretty long explanation, but he wasn't wrong. So that meant that we were somewhere in the eastern part of this world.

Kanade trailed right along behind me, lightly gripping back onto my hand as I held hers. I could tell that she was still a little scared, but she had seemed to calm down quite a bit. In truth, I was sacred as well. I knew full well what it was like to die. It was painful, scarring, and a lot of times quite slow. But I had only 'died' the one time. But that was a peaceful death.

Dying in the School World was always painful, although I didn't die as much as the other guys did, and I didn't always fully understand it, but I knew that I didn't want to leave this world how it was. I had to fix this now, so that nobody else would go through what we were going through.

"Wow, dudes! Big flashing, boo yah!" I didn't quite understand what T.K. had said, no one really can, but I did know what he was trying to alert us to. Off in the distance was a tall, thin beam of light that shot all the way up into the cloudless sky.

"That looks… suspicious."

"Maybe someone's trying to alert us to their position. Come on!" Matsushita began to run down the street, with T.K. following right behind him.

"Come on, dudes! Woo!" Reluctantly, I gripped Kanade's hand a bit harder and began to follow.

_Shadow Being World - Southern Plaza_

Takeyama stepped into the lowered part of the large plaza and pulled out a small compass from a side pouch in his pack. He flicked it twice, and the needle began to move. After spinning around twice, it landed on the small 'N' inside the glass.

"So I'm in the southern part, eh?" He gently slid the compass into his pants pocket and sat down upon a fairly new bench. "That gate was quite strange. I wonder where it leads too…" He began to contemplate just what the gate was sealing off, and if there was more than one.

He put his head back to rest it against the back of the bench and closed his eyes. But just as they closed, a large, sharp, and almost painful sensation hit his head. It was like an overpowering headache that came out of nowhere. He knew the sensation well, and in an instant was standing back up.

"So I guess you've come again?" Shadow Beasts quickly started to rise out of the ground in every direction. He gripped one of the five grenades he had attached to a specially made belt and pulled it upwards. "That is an unwise decision." He fixed his glasses again and pulled the pin on the flash bomb he held, and then threw it forward into a large number of the creatures. When it exploded, they started to evaporate, and he charged straight for them. By the time he got to where the bomb had went off, all the beasts had been killed, and he ran down the plaza.

After running for about ten whole minutes, he swiftly dashed into an alley and into a side door if a building. He waited, and could hear the rest of the Shadow Beasts rushing past the door. When the last of the noises had stopped, he sighed.

"Well that was difficult, to say the least." He took his glasses off and pulled a small, black cloth from his pocket. As he began wiping the lenses off, he looked around for a light switch, or any other source of light. It wasn't until he actually put his glasses back on that he found something. A small lamp sitting atop a counter that was still functional. "It would seem that the southern parts of this world are less deteriorated than the middle. And speaking of which… I wonder where that girl might be."

_Shadow Being World - Entering the Southeastern Sector_

"We're getting closer…" We kept running towards the large beam of light that suddenly appeared in the southern part of the city. "I just hope it's not a trap…"

"Don't worry, Matsushita the Fifth. I'm not sure those monsters are smart enough to even produce that light, let alone use it to lure us there."

"Crazy, man."

"In any case, we need to be on alert. Are you sure you can't sense anything?" Once again, he was referring to that sensation like your very soul was leaving your body dead and cold. Or like a massive headache was starting to form in your mind out of nowhere. The feeling that they got when the Shadows were around.

"Again, I haven't felt anything like that since I woke up, or even before that for that matter. When did you guys start to feel it?"

"First day, first attack, confused."

"Just like he said." _You could understand that?_ "It was the first day we were here, the first time they came. We both felt it just as they poured out of the ground, but we didn't know what it was until a couple of days in. After about twelve or thirteen attacks, we figured it out."

"Just how long have you guys been here?"

"Probably a week at least." While I had only been awake for about two day, they had been here fighting for almost seven. It almost seemed unfair. "Hey, check it." Matsushita stopped, which prompted us to do the same, and we looked to where he had pointed. About twenty or so Shadows were gathered in front of a small building near the southern plaza.

"What's up with that?"

"Not sure… but we have to eliminate em… Luckily we get the element of surprise." He pulled out a short, cylindrical tube and pulled out a long, needle like pin form the top. "Check this out." He chucked the tube into the crowd of them, and it instantaneously exploded into a bright flash of light, making all of the Shadows disappear.

"Whoa! What is up with that!?"

"We found three of them on a self in the building we were using to hide out. That was the last one."

"What happened to the other two?"

"The first one we were just trying to figure out what it was, and the second one we used on a large group of Shadows when my Gatling ran out of bullets the first time."

That was when we heard a door open. And almost immediately after, footsteps. They were coming towards us at a hurried pace, like whoever it was wanted to know what had made the Shadows disappear.

"Who's there?" A strangely familiar voice came from around the corner of the alley. "Friend or foe?"

"That depends on who… or what… you are."

"I am Christ." _Christ?_

"Takeyama?"

"Otonashi?" We both stepped out at the same time to look at each other. When he saw me he sighed. "How many times have I told you to call me Christ?"

"Ah, shut it, Takeyama." Matsushita and T.K. stepped out from our little hiding spot, along with Kanade.

"Matsushita the Fifth, T.K., and Miss Tachibana. Very nice to see you, Do follow me to my newly found home."

He fixed his glasses on his face, which made them shine straight across the lenses.

We finally found another part of our team.


	6. A Double Meeting

What up, Fandom? Chapter 6 is coming you way! Right now! Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Double Meeting**

_Shadow Being World - Middle Plaza_

Yuri walked forward, with Chaa and Yusa following right behind her. They didn't know what to expect from the Shadow Beasts at that point, but one thing was certain. They could _not_ underestimate them. The only thing that could be brought about from underestimating an unknown opponent was death. That wasn't a risk Yuri was willing to take.

Still not sure about how their current afterlife worked, they pressed forward, hoping to find some trace of their friends.

"Chaa, what about anybody else from the guild?"

"Well, see… thing about that is… Most of the technicians in the guild were merely NPCs, so they would have either stayed in the School World, or gotten devoured by the Shadows when they attacked."

"Damn… we can't catch a break. Yusa, what about you?"

"I only arrived about a day and a half ago. You and Chaa are the only two people I have had any contact with." Yuri was starting to get agitated by her own stupid luck.

_Damn…_

* * *

_Unknown Area_

It was dark. And cold. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or where her friends were. The only thing she felt was the cold air beating against her face. The pain had all but faded, but she couldn't feel that anymore. The only thing left was her cold, near lifeless body.

They tortured her, beat her, and left her for dead. She couldn't fight back. How could she? _He_ protected her. But he wasn't around. She began to cry.

All she wanted… all any of them wanted… was to go home. Be done with it forever. No more suffering, no more fighting. Just… peace. Peace with the person they cared for the most.

But in a hell like this, nobody could grant wishes.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Middle Sector_

He kept running. Running and running and running. He had been going non-stop for almost an hour now, at full speed nonetheless. And he'd keep running, until they stopped, and he sliced through each and every one of them without mercy.

"_OOYAMA!"_

"AH, FUJIMAKI!" The beasts didn't give up. They held on to him tightly, refusing to let go. About half of a meter behind, Shiina followed. She wouldn't let them take her friend either.

_No more people will suffer!_ She threw her dagger with all of her might, sending it straight through the shadow that sacrificed itself to protect the one carrying Ooyama. _DAMN!_

"Come on, come on, come on. COME ON!" Fujimaki, much to his displeasure, couldn't jump very high. Not high enough to be level with the Shadows. If he was up with them, at least he'd have a chance to catch and kill them. And unfortunately, he never carried a gun with him. "Dammit!"

Meanwhile, Ooyama struggled to get free, but not having any weapon made that difficult. And Hinata, almost exhausted, kept running right along Shiina, only in the streets instead of the rooftops. None of them had a chance to catch the Beasts, but Fujimaki was going to try.

He wouldn't give up for anything. He was going to get his friend back.

* * *

_Takeyama's Hideout - Interior Living Room_

"So this is where you've been hiding the whole time?" It was a little cliché pool parlor, with hardwood floors and walls, a large couch in front of a shattered television, and two pool tables in the back.

"Actually, no. I only arrived here about twenty minutes ago. But it seemed like a perfect place to hide for the time being."

"Then where were you before?"

"Well… that's pretty much the issue here. I was traveling with two other members of Battlefront only yesterday, but about an hour ago, I woke up outside of some large gate to the south."

_Another gate… What is up with these things?_ "That seems a little weird."

"Tell me, Otonashi. Miss Tachibana… she can't activate her Guard Scale, can she?" He faced away from me when he asked it, but even so, he knew my reaction to his question. Both me, and Kanade, were utterly surprised.

"How did you…?"

"Easily. It's only natural wouldn't you think? Guard Scale was activated and programmed by the Angel Player. The Angel Player doesn't exist in this world, and thus Guard Scale doesn't exist either."

"Is that… why I can't use my abilities?"

"You mean you didn't know?"

"No, I… didn't…"

"Kanade…" I could tell that she was a little upset about it, but thinking about it, it was pretty obvious. Yuri probably knew too, but just didn't want to tell us. Yuri and Takeyama both had extensive experience with the Angel Player, so it was only natural, just like Takeyama had said.

It must have been extremely damaging to hear it from someone else, but it was true. At least one of us should have seen it, but neither of us thought about a reason. I had just assumed it was because she was too scared to do it, but thinking about it, that didn't seem likely. Kanade didn't get scared that easily, and the only reason she's scared now is because she lost Guard Scale.

"Anyway, I think we need to focus on trying to find the rest of Battlefront." Takeyama reached into a small, yellow bag he had on the couch and pulled out a miniature laptop. "Luckily, that light box seems to be working, despite the harsh environment in the world."

"So that beam of light was you?"

"Indeed. It's a device of my own creation that emits a never ending signal flare, and that monitors its surroundings. I can see everything it sees through this screen." If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that finding Takeyama was probably the best thing that had happened to us since coming here. "I hope I can trust you three to go out and place more of them around here?"

"Wait…. Us three?"

"Yes. After all, we wouldn't want Miss Tachibana getting hurt out there. Though it might be painful to hear, and mind you I'm not trying to be rude, but at the moment, Miss Tachibana isn't very fit for fighting. Right now, she'd be dead weight. Don't worry though; we're quite safe inside this building." He fixed his glasses again, making the gleam straight across the glass.

* * *

_Nearing the Middle Sector's Plaza_

"Bastards!" Fujimaki pulled his Shirasaya out from its wooden sheathe, slicing through one of the Beasts that had appeared next to him. "Trying to stop me, huh? Not gonna happen!" He spun around, almost lightning fast, slicing through six more Beasts, who all disappeared. Then, without missing a step, spun back around and started running after Ooyama.

Shiina was now beginning to catch up, and although she was getting tired, she wouldn't let her weaknesses get the better of her. She couldn't let another one of her friends down, so she kept dashing along the rooftops, trying to get to Ooyama.

"What the hell do you want with him anyway!?" Fujimaki kept smashing through the Shadows one after the other as they tried to stop him. Whatever they wanted to do with Ooyama, they wanted to do it desperately. "Get your grimy hands off my friend!"

But no matter how determined he was, no matter how fast he ran after them, he wasn't going to catch up to them. Not only were they unaffected by gravity, they also seemed unaffected by air resistance, making them move at a quickened pace. They were simply too fast for any of them.

But… there was one minor detail the Beasts missed. No matter how far they get away from the people chasing them, it doesn't matter when there's more than they suspect. And just as Fujimaki, Hinata, and even Shiina were about to collapse from exhaustion, it happened.

A gun blast, a bullet whizzing through the seemingly night sky, going straight through the Shadow that held Ooyama. And then the clanking a metal against stone, and an explosion of light that could put the sun to shame. It all happened in a split second, and even confused Shiina.

"Well, that was a close call, wasn't it Ooyama?" The voice was familiar, and so was the figure. Walking into view was the leader of the SSS Battlefront, along with the resident mechanic, and the resident spy. Fujimaki smiled, and fell backwards onto the road.

"Thank god you're here, Yurippe."

* * *

_Shadow Being World - West Sector_

"Get lost!" Noda jumped forward, swinging his massive halberd up and down to slash away each and every one of the Beasts that surrounded him. "I'm getting really… _sick_ of this!" As he swung his axe, his traveling companion blasted away with his pistols.

"There seems to be no end!" Naoi kept shooting into the seemingly endless wave of the Shadows. "We need to think of something to do!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" Noda was starting to get tired. But this time, it wasn't because of Naoi. Swinging his halberd back and forth for so long was beginning to take its toll on his body. He was beginning to feel exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Naoi could tell that his companion was beginning to wear out.

"Dammit!" He swung once more, taking out the last Shadow in front of him. His halberd's head fell to the ground with a loud clang. "This is too much…" He was breathing heavily, and his arms felt numb. But finally, the shots behind him stopped.

"That seems to be it."

"Thank god!" Noda dropped his weapon to the ground, and fell backwards upon the Earth. "That was a work out." He began to catch his breath, his heart gradually slowing down. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to fall asleep.

Naoi decided to take the same opportunity, and layed down a couple of feet away from Noda.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Central Plaza_

"Here, Ooyama. Take this." Fujimaki handed his friend a small can of soda, which the latter took gratefully.

"It's a good thing we found you guy when we did, otherwise who knows what would have happened."

"Yeah… I can't thank you enough Yuri. I almost feel like I should apologize…"

"Apologize? For what?"

"Well… for being so weak, I guess. If I was any type of a real fighter like everyone else, I wouldn't have…" Ooyama was cut short by the sound of aluminum smashing against the concrete walkway. "Uh… Fujimaki?" Fujimaki looked dazed, like he was about to collapse. But it wasn't like he was going _to_ collapse… so much as he _did_ collapse. Because he _did_ collapse. "Daah! Fujimaki!"

He hit the ground hard, like he weighed a thousand pounds. But all in all, he seemed to be fine. Within seconds of his head bashing into the concrete, loud snores could be heard from the brown-haired teen.

"He's… sleeping?" Yuri looked down in what seemed like surprise. "Makes sense… he did do all that running."

"Yeah, he's just so stupid that he forgot to pass out." Hinata grinned, and couldn't help but laugh. "That's just great!"

"This is so stupid."

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Southern Plaza_

As I set down yet another one of Takeyama's strange devices upon the ground, I began to wonder how Kanade was doing. She must've taken the news about her powers seriously, and I couldn't comfort her as long as I was out here. I guess it was for a good cause. After all, it was helping us find the rest of Battlefront.

I had two main priorities while I was in this world at that time. My first priority was to protect Kanade with every fiber of my being. But according to Takeyama, she was safe inside of his hideout, and I really didn't have a reason to mistrust him. He may be whiny, annoying, and sometimes downright stupid, but then again… so are the rest of my friends. And I trust everyone.

My second priority: To help my best friend. Hinata had been through too much already. He had lost the girl he cared for the most as soon as he realized that he cared, and in this world, he had a chance to see her again. But unlike my case, he was lost and confused. He didn't know where she was in this world, or even if she was in this world at all. He always put on a brave face, and could always smile, even in the darkest times… But I know, that on the inside, he's hurting. Hurting more than anyone, even me, could possibly imagine.

* * *

So, we had three "information giving" sections in this one. Thought I'd be generous and extend the plot a massive amount this Chapter. It may seem slow-going, but everything is soon going to come together! Thanks for your continued reading and support everyone! Until Next Time~


	7. Reigniting A Fire That's Never Been Lit

Wow, Fandom... What _has_ it been? Almost three weeks? Dang... I need to put more time into writing. I mean, I don't want to be _that_ guy... Anywhoozle! Chapter 7: Go. Enjoy.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Southern Bridge_

"We're nearing the gate… aren't we, guys?" I nodded at Matsushita's question, confirming his suspicions.

"This bridge looks exactly the same as the one to the north."

"You think the gate looks the same too?"

"Dunno. Don't know what it would mean if it did." We kept walking, our guns drawn for some reason. Apparently T.K. and Matsushita felt the presence of Shadows; something I couldn't seem to do. They described it as a sharp, stinging sensation in the head - almost like a sudden migraine that quickly goes away. But eve after it passes, it barely lingers in your mind like a horrid after taste.

But regardless of whether or not I could sense them or not, I knew that if they pulled weapons that I would have to as well. I wasn't going to take any chance in this world. I had too many people to help to risk leaving forever.

**Chapter 7: Reigniting A Fire That's Never Been Lit**

We arrived at the massive - what we assumed was steel - gates, after about ten minutes of walking down the bridge. Even though we were ready for an attack, there were no hostiles around the gate.

"Hey guys, I thought you could feel Shadows around here."

"We did… but something seems off about this gate." He grabbed the bars and began to shake it rapidly, but it barely even moved. "It's… strange."

"Well, yeah. It's not connected to anything…" I looked over at the edges of that gate, and it was just floating there. There were no hinges, and not even a wall to hinge onto.

"Not like that. Sure enough, that's a little disturbing… But this gate is giving off a different vibe than the rest of this world does. It almost seems… pure."

"Pure? Pure how?"

"I don't know… like it's unaffected by the taint of this world. Like it's the complete opposite of the Shadows." I didn't understand exactly what he meant, but it seemed like these gates were important somehow and if we were going to get out of here, we had to find out everything we could about them.

_Unknown Area_

They began to circle her, examining her limp body. She couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. Their presence had been deeply ingrained in her mind, and their voices echoed throughout the small tunnel. She had already been there for a long time, so she knew they weren't going to attack her. If they were, she would be dead already.

Eventually, they would leave her to her pain, not even bothering to deal the finishing blow; and not bothering to take over her soul and turn her into one of them. At that point, she would have actually preferred to be eaten, rather than sit and be in pain.

After they left she began to cry again, though there were no tears left. Her mouth moved just the slightest bit, like she was talking. And while no words came out, her mouth moved to say - "Just come save me, already…"

_Shadow Being World - Middle Sector_

Noda and Naoi made their way down a small alley, looking for any sign of life; whether that life was friend or foe. They had both seen the massive columns of light shooting up into the blackened sky, but neither knew what they were or where they came from.

"Are you sure we're going the right way, kid?" The tall, axe-wielding teen followed his unwanted traveling companion through the alleged shortcut as both made their way towards the lights.

"Don't question my sense of direction. God is never wrong."

"God, huh?" Noda - and everybody else in Battlefront - seriously questioned Naoi's self-given status of 'God'. "Personally, I don't believe in God. If there was such a thing, it would've shown up after Yuri smashed the School World's computer system to pieces." Naoi didn't respond, something Noda found odd since he seemed to enjoy being a sarcastic little weasel.

Nevertheless, the unfortunate duo continued onward, hoping to find any clues to the whereabouts of their friends. It was a job that put Noda on edge when he thought about it. When he looked back on the time he spent with the SSS, he saw it as wasted time. 'Angel' was the never the real enemy, so all the time he spent with his friends was nothing but a game. And he took it for granted. And now he had been separated from all of his friends. Yes… there wasn't one friend anywhere near him…

Not a one.

_Shadow Being World - South East Sector_

We had already finished placing all of Takeyama's light boxes, and now the entire southern part of the city was lit up like the Tokyo tower in the middle of the night. It was kind of strange to see lights in this world, seeing that all technology had been rendered useless in the current afterlife we were in.

But nevertheless, we had placed about a dozen light producing boxes on the ground each, meaning there was a lot of signal flares for the rest of Battlefront to see.

"I hope everybody notices em… It would suck if those things don't work." The three of us were headed back to Takeyama's newly found hideout where, we hoped, there would already be at least one new member of our team that had found our location.

"Well, those columns of light blast way up into the sky, which conveniently enough is permanently pitch black. I doubt that any amount of buildings in this screwed up place are gonna block a view like that." He had a point.

"When the lights go _up_ in the city, man. C- c- c- crazy." He did not.

"Either way, we did what we were supposed to do, and we know that those gates hold some sort of meaning to getting us out of here."

"So the next thing to do would be to just sit and wait for the rest of Battlefront?"

"Seems about right." Just as he said that, the ground began to shake. "Whoa! What the hell?" It was less of a shaking, and more of a rumbling, like something was causing the world to break underneath the ground.

"Please tell me this isn't another giant beast!"

"Wild to heaven, dudes!" The unnatural quake kept going for about ten more seconds, and then stopped. "Craziness gone, dud-" T.K.'s random English was cut short by the ground rumbling one last time before something huge busted out of the ground.

It was like a snake, but it was gigantic. As it lurched out of the ground it went up at least 3 meters before it stopped, and even then it wasn't all the way emerged. As it stopped its ascent, it curved, and dove right back into the ground. It ate through the solid concrete like it was nothing more than paper and sunk itself back into the ground.

"What the _hell_ was that!?" The ground shook again, and this time the beast shot up right behind T.K. "T.K.! Get out of the way!" T.K. instantly took our advice and dove forward, doing a tuck and roll as he hit the ground to distance himself from the beast. As he stood back up, he pulled out his pistols and began to fire.

"Unload on it!" Matsushita swung his assault rifle around his shoulder and started to fire at the beast, so I took his advice and did the same; except I used my pistol, of course. We kept firing, making every bullet count until the beast dug itself back underground. "A digger…"

The newly named 'digger' emerged again, this time placing itself a few feet behind Matsushita, and lurched towards him, it's sickening black mouth wide open. It opened up with four corners, meaning its mouth went across its face twice. On the inside was multiple tiny teeth, each one most likely razor sharp. And those razor sharp teeth were headed right for Matsushita.

Fortunately, the now slimmed down Judo master was able to dodge the monster's attack as it crashed down upon where he had been standing.

"Damn! This is insanity!" He turned around and fired upon the disappearing monster. "How the hell to we beat this thing!?" It went all the way down into a new hole and hid for a while.

"Be on guard… It could come back at any minute…" Luckily, I was wrong. It stayed hidden as we stood, ready for it to attack one of us again. But it didn't come back, meaning it most likely gave up. As I holstered my pistol again, I asked a serious question. "Matsushita the Fifth… What the hell is a digger?" It was the second time he had named a monster with some term that seemed like it was from a video game.

But before he could answer, the worst thin possible happened.

"SMASHER!" I turned to see the other beast that Matsushita had named charging straight for us. "RUN!" So… I turned again and ran at full speed, running the opposite direction of the so-called smasher, with my two companions following right behind me. But as we ran away from one monster, another blocked our path.

At least a dozen of the worm like diggers shot up from the ground, stopping us from moving any farther. Each one snapped at us as we got close to them, like they were trying to eat us or something. And if I was sure of one thing at that moment, it was that I was _not_ going to get eaten by something like that.

"Dammit!" Matsushita turned and began firing at the smasher. "What the hell do we do now!"

"I'll tell ya what you do, Matsushita the Fifth!" A voice echoed through the, seemingly night, sky, and we looked up to find out who it was. "Ya take one of these bad boys and light up the bastards!" It was Fujimaki. He was kneeling down on the rooftops above holding a massive gun that resembled a military grade Grenade Machinegun. "Let's do this!"

With his final words, he aimed his weapon and pulled the trigger, making a whole bunch of small cylinders fly across the air at incredible speeds, each one making direct contact with the smasher. As each one hit, it exploded into a burst of light.

"It's shooting light bombs!?" Fujimaki laughed like a mad man as he barraged the massive creature with high caliber explosives. Something told me he was having fun.

"YEAH BABY! TAKE THAT!" The monster took a few steps back as it tried to get away from the massive attack, but Fujimaki's range was long. And as he had his fun, somebody else was around to take care of the path blocking diggers.

I looked back just as nine or ten black streaks appeared in the air one after the other, and in a single second after each one, a digger would fall to the ground. After the last ones fell, the black streaks stopped and the scarf wearing girl landed on her feet.

"Shiina!" She looked up at Fujimaki, who had finally killed the oversized beast and was now cheering wildly for himself. Then she looked down and sighed.

"This is so stupid…"

Like a reaction to her words, another digger shot upwards right behind her and made an attempt to attack her off guard. But before it got to her, it was sent flying backwards by an extremely large, extremely well placed bullet. It made contact just under its opened mouth, making him lurch back.

And before it could go forward again, there was gleam of light in the sky, like light reflecting off of metal. And in an instant after that, Noda came crashing down to the ground, his halberd slicing straight through the creature's neck as he passed by. As he landed, the digger exploded behind him.

"Shot n' Slice Combo." He looked up at the roof and smiled at another member of Battlefront who held a .50 caliber sniper rifle. Ayato Naoi.

"YEAH! The team's all here, baby!" At Fujimaki's cue, the rest of our friend's came out from the nearby alleyway. Hinata, Yuri, Ooyama, Chaa, and Yusa all walked out and greeted us. "The Battlefront's epic return, baby! WOO!"

Fujimaki was happy, for well-known reason. After such a long time, the larger part of our team had finally come together. Adding in Kanade and Takeyama, we were only missing Takamatsu and Yui.

That was about the time it hit me. _Yui…_ Yui was still missing, meaning that the smile Hinata was wearing as he greeted and hugged his fellow teammates was probably forced. And that wasn't a good thing.

* * *

Aww, a touching reunion that is actually pretty bad for SOME people. *Looks at Hinata* So Fandom, how'd you like this one? It's a good thing I keep seeing new favorites and follows to my little Angel Beats! story, cause that lets me know that I'm doing good! So thanks a lot, you guys! Until Next Time~


	8. Strategy Meeting, A New Battlefront

(Please Refer To My Profile To See Why Is Was So Dang Late With This) What up, Fandom? Welcome to the next Chapter of O:SA. This one is pretty much going to be a filler, but I assure you that I put a lot of effort into the jokes, and that it will be funny. Hopefully we all share the same general sense of humor. Okay, Chapter 8. Here We Go. Enjoy.

* * *

We all sat in silence, waiting for her command. Apparently, Takeyama was more useful with his hands than we thought, because he had built an entire replica of the SSS Battlefront HQ in the time that we were gone. You know, minus the whole big floating holographic screen thing. That wasn't here. Not that I paid much attention to it anyway… But on with the story.

We were sitting in our usual spots, like nothing had changed. Hinata and I were sitting on the couch to the left of the room. Kanade, who had never actually been inside of out HQ, was sitting between us.

Across the room, sitting on the opposite couch was Takeyama, who was busily clicking on his computer, Matsushita the Fifth, and Ooyama. T.K. was standing behind Matsushita, dancing and making random sounds. Shiina was back in the corner, balancing a broom on every one of her ten fingers.

Behind my couch was Noda and Fujimaki. Noda was leaning back against the wall, and Fujimaki was sitting on the back of the couch on the spot behind Kanade. Ayato was standing next to me with his arms behind his back. Chaa, another person who I don't think was ever in the HQ, was looking out the window with a pair of binoculars in his hand, most likely looking for any more smashers.

And of course, our fearless leader was sitting behind the desk in her roll-around comfy chair that looked like the principal's chair. Standing off to the side of her was our resident information gatherer, Yusa.

It was all in place, except for two spots. The area of the couch behind Hinata, and the armchair that was placed between the two couches were both missing their occupiers. We were still missing Yui and Takamatsu.

None of us knew what we were supposed to do next. We all just walked in and took our places without any thought as to what the newly brought together SSS Battlefront was for. It was a big problem we face when Kanade first became our friend. Nobody knew what Battlefront's purpose was.

"I guess… you guys should give me a report." Yuri finally broke the silence. "Tell me everything you guys have found out."

"About what, Yurippe?"

"About… anything. Any information about anything that you think is relevant."

"Two plus two is four."

"This is so stupid…"

"Where did you even get those brooms, Shiina?"

"Come on!" Yuri smacked her hand against the desk. "Can we get serious here? We're missing two operatives, we're trapped inside of a new world, and _none_ of you have done anything useful at all?"

"Come on, Yurippe. It ain't like that. We just don't know what would be relevant."

"The gates…" Matsushita began to talk. "I think they have something to do with getting us out."

"Gates?"

"Yeah… there's one in the northern and southern most part of this city, both in the middle it would seem."

"Yeah, me and shorty found one in the west. Maybe that means there's one in the east?"

"What are these gates?"

"We're not sure. Otonashi, T.K and I found the one in the south. They're massive, at least ten kilometers high. And this one seemed pure to me."

"Pure how, Matsushita the Fifth?"

"Not sure, Ooyama… It felt like it was the opposite of the Shadows. Like it was healing the area just by being there." Yuri began to think a bit before asking another question.

"Anything else?" Takeyama closed his laptop.

"Yes… It would seem that this world is trying to tell us something."

"Tell us something? And what would that be, Takeyama?"

"That's the part I don't know. It would seem that this world wants each of us to do a specific task, complete a certain mission. It shows us this by rendering our brains unconscious and teleporting us somewhere inside the city." Yuri's eyes widened.

"That happened to me… It's why I lost Takamatsu. We were in the north sector and under attack when I woke up inside of a school in the middle sector."

"Yes… it happened to me as well. I was somewhere in the east when all of a sudden I woke up in front of the south gates. I doubt this is caused by the Shadows, seeing as - according to Matsushita the Fifth - the gates are pure. The only thing I could come up with is that the world is doing it to us. And call me Christ!"

"Wait… how could the world just knock us out and teleport our bodies? That makes zero sense."

"Think about it, Noda… The School World sent us here of its own accord, right? Maybe it's something to do with that whole programming thing."

"Hinata's right." Yuri leaned back and placed her hand under her chin. "When I went down below the Guild, it was nothing but computers running the entire system. That means that this world has a mind of its own, and can probably control all of the souls inside of it."

"So… what? We just wait for this place to separate all of us _again_? I don't think so."

"Calm down, Fujimaki… Come on, everyone. We're making progress."

"Uhm…" Kanade weakly raised her hand.

"Kanade. What's up?"

"I can't… use Guard Scale…" Yuri looked at her in minor shock.

"That's interesting."

"Takeyama-"

"Christ."

"- figured out that it is because my Software isn't in this world."

"The Angel Player… Well, it's a start. Takeyama."

"Christ."

"I assume you've memorized the entire user's manual by now, right?" Takeyama shifted his glasses around and nodded. "Good. Then I want you, Kanade, and Chaa to get started on a new computer. Then I want you to start recreating Kanade's Software." The small boy nodded again.

"Understood." Kanade looked at me with worry filled eyes, so I tried to tell her that everything would be fine with mine. She leaned into me and, much to my - and everyone else's - wrapped her arms around my waist in a tight hug before she got up and followed Chaa and Takeyama back into another part of the building.

"Okay. What else do we got?" From the looks of things, nobody knew what else to say. Either that, or they were thinking of things. I saw Yuri take a quick glance towards Hinata, but she quickly threw her gaze back forward. "What about our missing operatives? Any leads?" Fujimaki decided to answer this one.

"We still haven't found out who left the communicator… Anybody here know?" The whole room was silent. That majority of us were in the hotel when I first woke up, meaning that there were only a few people who could have left it.

"That's… odd." Yuri looked around for a minute. "Maybe Takeyama left it?"

"No… Takeyama was with me and Takamatsu when we arrived, remember?"

"Good point."

"Then who the hell left this damned thing!" It seemed like Hinata finally snapped. He jumped up off the couch and pulled the small black box from his pocket. After it was out, he threw it down, making it smash apart on the table. And with that, Hinata walked out of the room.

**Chapter 8: Strategy Meeting, A New Battlefront**

_Outside the New Battlefront HQ_

As I walked outside, I couldn't hear anything but the natural sounds of the world. While it was incredibly eerie, it was still kind of peaceful and calming. The cold air hit my face like bristles of a broom as the wind blew. It seemed strange, but this world was that much different than a normal world. It actually reminded me of my old city in a way.

I took a few steps forward and saw a very depressed Hinata sitting on the ground, his knees up and his back against the wall. Without a word, a walked next to him and placed by back against the wall, sliding down it to get in a sitting position.

"Do you know what it's like… Otonashi?" I looked up into the dark sky, wondering if the sun was ever going to shine on this dull day.

"No… I can't say I do."

"It feels like… like a sword in constantly piercing my chest. Like there is something making my heart want to explode." He spoke about saddening things, but there was no hint of sadness in his voice; no tears. If I didn't know any better, I would've believed we were having a normal conversation.

"I've lost people that I've cared about before… But I don't think the pain I felt from losing my sister can compare to this. You have a chance to find somebody you've lost. But finding them seems like an impossible task."

"What would you do, Otonashi? If you were given another chance to see your sister… but God gave you some impossible task to do before you could. What would you do?" I don't know why, but I had to actually think about the answer. Even though I knew it was 'yes', I still had to think about it.

"Before I died… I had nothing to live for. My life was just meaningless. But then my sister died. She died because she couldn't find a donor. And that made something in me tick. I started to do better in school, to work hard, and to do things I never thought I'd be able to do." Hinata looked at me with wonderment. "I guess you could say… I did the impossible." I looked over at him, hoping my words made at least some amount of comfort. Apparently… they did.

"Yeah… I guess you're right, Otonashi." He stood up, the usual glint in his eyes, and a smile across his face. "I have an idea." Hinata then ran back up to the door of the building and ran inside. Soon after I followed, passing by Chaa, Takeyama, And Kanade as I ran back into the new Battlefront HQ. The three of them were bust creating a new computer to install Angel Player on.

As I ran through the door, Hinata was already out his newly formed plan.

"Here's how it works. From what I've heard here so far, the programming of this world wants us each to accomplish something. To get us to accomplish that something, it apparently knocks us out and transports us to a spot near where we're supposed to go, right?" Yuri nodded.

"It would appear that way. Why? What's you plan?"

"Well, since that's the case… The only thing I can think of is to let it happen."

"Wait… You're saying we should just let this programming or whatever separate us?"

"Not separate. Help us come together. We already know where we are hiding out now, so that means if we get lost, we just have to make our way back to this building. And with all the lights that Takeyama made, that shouldn't be any problem at all."

"Sounds good so far. Keep it coming."

"If we can each go where we're supposed to go and do whatever task we're given… We can finally figure out how to get the hell out of here and finally go home. But to do that, I need your help. All of you." Hinata looked around the room at all of his friends. Ooyama was the first to stand up.

"I'm in. We can't think of anything better."

"Yeah, sounds good to me."

"A - Okay, dude." Matsushita and T.K. agreed as well.

"This is so stupid."

"Ah, what the hell. I'll give this a shot."

"Guess I've got no choice. Count me in, Hinata." Hinata looked at me last. That just made me chuckle to myself.

"You know I'm in, man." With that, everybody had given there okays, and Yuri stood up and smiled.

"Okay. It seems like everyone is on board. We'll split up and try to get the world to send us to our designated places. After you're done with your given task, head back here. I'll make sure Takeyama keeps those light emitter up and running." Hinata smiled with relief, a smile I was glad to see.

"Thanks, everybody."

"Yusa, I need you to get me a visual of the entire city, from one corner to the next. I'll have Takeyama make a virtual map based off of your data collection." Yusa simply nodded.

"Yes, boss." She walked out of the room without another word.

"Okay everybody. You know what you're supposed to do. Now get out there and do it."

"Wait!" I stopped everybody as they made their way out the door. "We're forgetting a crucial piece on information."

"What's that, Otonashi?"

"The Operation. What's it called?" The question caught everyone, even me actually, off guard. It was a stupid question, but I thought it seemed relevant. "The Battlefront I know scares me when the leader announces the names of Operations. So… what'cha got for this on, Yuri?" Amazingly, everybody looked at her, expecting to hear a cool new name.

"How about…" She took about a minute to think of a new name. "Ah, I got it!"

"Operation: Second Afterlife. Mission Start."

* * *

Yay, Chapter 8: Finished. How'd ya like it, Fandom? Stupid? Boring? Loserish? All of the above? Nah, you like'd it. Lions. Anyway, look forward to the next one. Until Next Time~


	9. Operation - Second Afterlife

Here we go, Chapter 9. Enjoy.

* * *

Hinata looked at the sky with determination in his eyes. He knew this was going to be a tough battle, even though he didn't know exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

In fact, he wasn't really sure of what he was supposed to do to begin in the first place. His job - all of their jobs - seemed simple. Figure out what you need to do and do it. Pretty general orders. But… how was he supposed to figure out what he needed to do? He didn't have a clue.

"I guess I just… walk around for a bit?" _Apparently, Takeyama got warped while he was walking alone. And Yurippe got warped at the same time as Takamatsu, since Otonashi couldn't find him either. That means that I should travel alone for a while. At least until I figure out where I need to go. Then I can go back whenever I feel like it… right?_ We wasn't all that confident in his own plan, but that didn't stop him from going along with it.

"Okay… I guess I should…" And just like that… Hinata was gone.

**Chapter 9: Operation - Second Afterlife**

"So… what the hell should we be doing?"

"God doesn't know. We were told to just walk around and wait to be teleported, were we not?"

"Tch. Whatever. I don't know I even have to walk with you anyway." Noda, seemingly reluctantly, followed behind Naoi, both of them waiting for the world to knock them cold and send them somewhere.

"I believe that we would have a better chance to activate the world's senses if we were alone anyway. So I'll just be going." Naoi abruptly turned down an alley and walked away, leaving Noda standing in the street.

"Damned brat."

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Outside the City_

The boy slowly opened his eyes again after what seemed like days. The lights around him shot into his sight in a split second and blinded him for about ten more seconds. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he opened his eyes all the way, taking in the few sights around him.

He had awoken a few times before, but this time it felt different. Instead of the cold steel he usually felt against his back, it was soft and slightly wet. Instead of a dull, chrome room; he could see the sky and the tops of trees. Instead of darkness, it was bright. And instead of being bound, he felt free.

"Where… am I?" Takamatsu moved his freed hand into his pocket and slowly pulled out his glasses, and then moved them up to his face. After getting them on, he finally decided to pick himself up. Almost instantly, he realized why it felt soft and wet beneath him. "Grass…" He looked down at the green ground, and moved his hand along it. _It's… real!?_

He stood up, staggering a little bit before he caught his balance. He looked for a minute, making sure that there weren't any threats. After making sure nothing was waiting to attack him, he let his guard down and went back to looking at the grass.

"This is very strange… I'm not sure the current state that this world is in would be able to meet the requirements grass has to live. So why is it growing…?" He looked at the ground, staring intently at the miraculous thing that lay beneath his feet. "Huh? What's that?"

All of a sudden, the ground began to rumble, throwing Takamatsu off balance. As he fell upon the soft grass, the spot he was looking at began to rise.

"Wait… what the hell?" He grabbed for his gun, which wasn't holstered at his side like it should have been. Upon realizing this, he panicked. "Damn! What now!?" The spot on the ground burst open widely, and out of the freshly made hole, a gigantic worm appeared. "What in the world!?"

It screamed as it rose out of the ground, making Takamatsu's head spin. Without a gun, there was no way to defend himself, so he instantly got up and began to run.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Undetermined Location_

As I opened my eyes, I couldn't help but want to close them right back again. I had never been good at waking up in the morning, especially when I was younger, and for whatever reason I just wanted to tell myself 'five more minutes' like I was trying to convince my mother to let me sleep in. But after I remembered that I was in fact _not_ a middle school kid trying to hit the snooze button, I quickly shot upwards.

As I settled into a sitting position, a rubbed my forehead, trying to remove the slight headache that I had begun to get. After I felt good enough, and my eyes adjusted to the light, I decided to stand and check my surroundings.

It was normal enough, at least for the world I was currently in. I was surrounded by buildings that were all made out of solid oak wood, but it was all decaying, and at a rapid rate. Mold grew on every surface except the ground I was standing on. Based on the looks of the buildings, I determined that I was in the middle part of the city, most likely close to the center.

"Alright… I guess the first thing I should do is look around a bit now that I'm here." The orders that we were given for the operation was to find out what the programming of this world wanted us to accomplish while we were there. As the members of the SSS Battlefront tried to pass on from the school world, the so-called 'programming' sent us to the new world instead, so that we could purge the Shadow Virus from the afterlives for good.

It wasn't until we had finally come together -mostly - that someone figured out that to accomplish the purge, we all had to do something individually. The person who figured it out was Hinata, and when he told everyone his plan, they all agreed. And thus, Operation: Second Afterlife began.

"And while that has been settled…" I walked out of the alleyway I had woke up in and stepped out into the small street that it led me to. "WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPOSSED TO DO NOW!?" I shouted into the air, trying to get a response from anyone who could hear me. A friend, a foe… The programming of this forsaken place. Or even God himself. Any response at all would have been fine.

Unfortunately, nothing even came close to being said back. And that meant there was nothing I could do except wait and look for an answer, not that I expected to find one right away anyway. Even so, not knowing what to do is kind of annoying.

"Great." I decided to sit down on one of the nearby benches and just wait for something to come along. As I sat, I leaned my head back on the wall behind my bench and stared at the dark sky above. "Now what? I can't just sit here forever and hope that an answer comes to me."

The sky was as dark as it had ever been, with not even a single cloud in sight. But even without clouds, there was no sign of sunlight. It was a very ominous sight, but it was oddly calming.

"I wonder how Kanade is doing…"

* * *

_SSS Battlefront, Shadow World HQ - Formerly Takeyama's Hideout_

"Let's see… This goes like this. And that means that this one goes here." Kanade watched Takeyama and Chaa as they constructed a computer from scratch. Luckily, Chaa's ability to create objects from thin air was still working, so he could easily create all of the things Takeyama needed to build it.

"Takeyama…"

"Christ." Kanade gave off a half annoyed expression, which Takeyama couldn't see. _He's still going on about that?_

"Is this the first time you've built a computer?"

"No… I've built about ten or eleven in the School World alone. But when I was alive, I used to build them all the time."

"When you were… alive?"

"Yes. My dad was a computer technician, and ran his own computer repair shop. He was the reason I got into this kind of thing. I helped him out a lot in my free time, so I knew the basics of what made computers work. That led to me building computers from scratch."

"I see."

"Even so, I've never designed something so complicated before. I remember the computer from your room quite well, and I knew from the first time I saw it that it wasn't ordinary. It has to be reconstructed perfectly to be able to run the Angel Player. And that's what I need your help with, Miss Tachibana."

"To program the Angel Player into the computer."

"Precisely." Takeyama continued to piece together wires and parts very carefully, like he was afraid of messing up. "I've already memorized the main parts of how to install it, but even that won't help much in programming new weapons and skills."

"The Angel Player requires somebody with extensive experience in it to work properly."

"And that's where you come in. Chaa, construct me another microchip like the last one, please."

"You got it."

"It's almost done, Miss Tachibana." He took the newly created microchip from Chaa and slowly placed it inside the massive box, connecting multiple wires to it. "That should do it… I just need to add the finishing touches."

As Takeyama added the last pieces of the computer together, Kanade breathed a sigh of relief. Soon, she would be able to protect her friends again.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - South West Sector_

"Ow, ow, ow…" Matsushita woke up and lifted himself into a sitting position. "I guess… I got warped." He looked around to see what was around him, and saw a familiar figure in the distance.

"What up, dude."

"T.K." Matsushita smiled and stood up to greet his friend. "You got warped with me?"

"Seems that way. Crazy, crazy." Matsushita leaned over to pick up his dropped Gatling gun from the ground. "South west Sector, crazy teleportation."

"South west, huh? I guess that means we have something to do here then. Shall we get to work?"

"Figure so, down to work." As the duo started to walk off, a loud explosion went off behind them. "Whoa, dude!" T.K. pulled his pistols from his waste, and Matsushita swung his Gatling around and faced towards the source of the explosion.

"Damn! Something's coming already?" The air went silent, and they stood in defenses positions, waiting for something to happen. "T.K. Don't let your guard down." The blonde nodded and held his pistols up, ready for an attack at any moment.

They both stood, waiting for whatever caused the explosion to show itself, either by showing its body or by attacking. Then, it did.

A gigantic, red beam of light shot through a nearby building, demolishing the weathered structure in an instant. But even after blasting through about three buildings, the beam didn't stop. It kept going, hurling directly at Matsushita. He jumped out of the way and took aim through the massive hole in the building, aiming directly at the mouth of the beast that shot it.

"SMASHER!" T.K. ran around to the side of the building as the sound of Matsushita's Gatlin gun began to go off. "T.K.! Aim for the eyes!" The blonde nodded again and took aim at the Smasher as it came into view. He held his pistols in his hands and began to pull the triggers one after the other, unloading his bullets into the face of the massive creature.

The Smasher began to back up as the barrage of bullets hit it, meaning that it actually had an effect this time. But even so, the monster didn't back down. It opened its mouth again and took aim at T.K. With a great roar, it shot another beam of light.

T.K. immediately did a barrel roll to get out of the way, and took the presented opportunity to shoot at the opened mouth.

"That's it!" Matsushita looked at T.K., and then back at the Smasher. "That's this things weakness! It's too slow to react to anything after it fires that blast. Meaning that as long we can dodge, we should be able to attack directly!"

"Crazy ride, dude!" T.K. reloaded his pistols and unleashed another barrage of bullets upon the creature. "Take it down, destruction time!" Matsushita took aim again and began to shoot his own barrage of shells.

_Damn… we may have found how to beat the thing, but this is still going to take a lot of ammo…_ Despite the thought he had, he kept the trigger pressed back, making his gun shoot wave after wave of bullets at the Smasher.

The whole time, the beast continued to blast it's attack at T.K., who was the only target it could get a good blast off at. But T.K. was fast on his feet, and dodged each attack with ease.

Just as it seemed they were on the verge of victory, something interrupted the fight. But this interruption wasn't any ordinary interruption. Instead of stopping the fight temporarily, it ended it entirely.

A massive, black, whip-like string came out of nowhere from behind the Smasher and cut straight through it, making the massive creature disappear in a large cloud of smoke.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Northern Plaza_

"Get…!" The flash of light reflecting off of newly polished metal went through the air. "Out…!" The same flash. "Of… MY WAY!" Four more flashes of reflected light moved in all different directions, each one getting blotted out for a spilt second as they seemingly sliced through an object.

And as they ended, Fujimaki froze, his entire body posed in a perfect form. He smiled, and each of the Shadows around him burst into black clouds, which dispersed into the air.

"That's much better. Persistent bastards." He flipped Shirasaya around in his hand twice and slowly sheathed it. "They've been coming at me harder with each attack, but… I wonder what I'm here to do. Can't be to just slice through these worthless things." He look around, searching for anything that he could consider a clue. "Damn… not again."

The sharp pain that warned of an attack shot through Fujimaki's head, and he once again pulled his Shirasaya from its sheathe and got ready for another attack.

"This is a real pain in my ass. But more importantly…" He looked up at a nearby building, focusing on a single object that stood on top of it. "Why isn't Shiina helping me?" He smiled at the girl whose back was turned to him as she looked off into the distance.

* * *

_SSS Battlefront HQ - Main Room_

The door opened, and the SSS Battlefront's resident information gatherer stepped into the small room, where Yuri was sitting, deep in thought. She sat behind her desk, leaning over it with her elbows against the wood.

"Boss." As if hearing Yusa's voice snapped her out of a trance, she opened her eyes wide and look at the small girl.

"Yusa, what's up?" Without saying a single word, Yusa walked over to the desk and placed a small object on it, then turned to walk out. "Oh, thanks, Yusa." The girl nodded and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Yuri picked up the object that her friend had given her and pushed her finger against it. The small, black square lit up with a green light, showing a holographic map of the entire city.

"Huh. That's very elaborate for the amount it took. That girl is fast." Yuri put her elbow on the desk and rested her head against her hand. She looked at the map and smiled. "Alright, you guys. Let's see if you can do your jobs just as fast."

* * *

_Shadow Being World - Unknown Area_

He opened his eyes, unsure of what had happened. There was an intense pain in the back of his head, like a rock had bashed him from behind. In fact, that might have been what knocked him out in the first place. However, he decided to ignore the pain for that sake of his mission.

So, Hinata picked himself up and brushed the dust and dirt from his pants and shirt.

"Looks like I got transported… But where the hell am I?" He was standing in what looked like the mouth of a cave. Behind him was an extremely blinding light that filtered in from a large opening in a rock formation. Ahead of him, there was nothing but impending darkness. "Well, that looks inviting doesn't it?"

He began to walk down the slightly reverse-inclined cave path, his pistol drawn and ready to fire. He wasn't sure what he was there to do, but whatever it was, he figured it wasn't in the direction of the bright light.

"Of course I'm the one that gets the ominous, dark, wet, scary cave in the middle of nowhere." He smiled to himself and sighed. "Oh well… Guess I should get to work."

* * *

Wow, long Chapter! Close to 3k words this time, and took up about six pages in the document. Of course, for a real book, six pages isn't a real Chapter, but whatever! So, Fandom. How'd you like it? Hope to see your response through the faves, follows, and reviews I get. Next Chapter, everyone is going to get thier jobs started, so look forward! Until Next Time~

(Side Note: I tried to add in a part of the Chapter for everyone in Battlefront, but I ended up leaving out Ooyama on accident. A tried to go back through and find somewhere I could add him in... but that didn't work out. Sorry about that!)


	10. Swing of the Bat, Cheer of the Crowd

And here's the update on O:SA! Yaaaay... Chapter 10. Enjoy

* * *

A smile stretched across his face as he took his first steps inside of the cave. It was dark and wet, and the decline that led into it didn't seem very inviting. From inside, drops of water could be heard echoing through the possibly never-ending corridors. The ground was damp, and the only light was from the water. In short, it didn't give off a friendly, nice-place, kind of vibe.

But even so, Hinata smiled as he went deeper inside.

"This… might prove to be fun, me." His smile got wider as he walked further inside of the cave. Eventually, there was zero amount of light, and he had to rely on feeling the wall to keep going. "Guess if the light from outside stops shining inside, there's nothing for the water to reflect…" He stopped talking as his hand moved across what felt like a very slimy surface. His face went pale and he quickly took his hand off the wall.

It was wetter than the rest of the wall had been, and felt more like grass. And whatever it was, it was partially stuck to his hand. He began to feel sick, and quickly smacked his hands together, trying to get whatever it was off.

"I've never wanted a flashlight with me more than now…" As the last of… whatever it was… was off of his hands, Hinata looked around, wondering exactly how far he had traveled into the ominous cave. "I'm really not sure how deep I've gone into this place…" Thinking about how lost he most likely was, he smiled again. "Heh… Oh well."

**Chapter 10: Swing of the Bat, Cheer of the Crowd**

"Hmph. It's about time you bastards showed up." Hinata raised his gun to shoulder height, pointing the barrel upwards, and clicked the hammer backwards. Within seconds, bright red dots circled him. "It really helps that those eyes of yours glow!" He threw his aim at one of the pair of glowing eyes and pulled the trigger three times. Each of the shots hit in succession, and the receiving Shadow's eyes faded away.

At that, the rest of the Shadow's lurched towards him, ready to attack him in whatever way they attacked in. But the attacks were for naught. Each time one of them got close, Hinata positioned the barrel of his pistol directly on the glow of the eye and pulled the trigger only once, making them disappear in one shot.

"Too easy." As the last set of glowing eyes lurched towards him, Hinata expertly dodged and clicked the hammer backwards as it turned around. He put the barrel right at the creature's head and smiled. "Okay, pal. How about giving me some directions?" The creature let out a high-pitched noise, like it was screeching at him. "Thought so." One last shot echoed through the cave, and the red eyes faded into the blackness.

* * *

_Ten Minutes Later_

"I tried to conserve by taking the majority out with one shot, but even so…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black box. He shook it twice, and metal jingling could be heard from inside. "That's only about three full clips left… If I'm lucky. Damn… Just one misfortune after the other right now." Hinata smiled again, seemingly content with his series of bad luck.

Despite his obvious lack of ammunition, sense of direction, and sense of time, as well as not knowing his current objective, Hinata pushed forward, traveling deeper and deeper into the cave. He mentally refused to put his hand on the wall again, for fear of touching the slimy substance he had touched before.

Not touching the wall meant that Hinata had to rely on nothing but his eyes to venture through the wet cave. Luckily, he could see a short amount of distance all around him, so he could tell if he was coming to a dead end before he smacked his face into a wall.

"It would simplify things if I knew where I was… Or if I knew what I was doing here." By now, he figured that he had been wandering through the cave for around thirty minutes. And during that entire half an hour, he had no idea where he was going. The cave was darker than ever, and fact that it had gone so deep underground before finally evening out didn't help matters at all.

He had turned down a side path about ten different times, so he had no idea if he was getting further in, or further out. The ground hadn't inclined the whole time, so he figured he wasn't headed back to the entrance.

"Still… I really wish I knew where I was."

* * *

_SSS Battlefront HQ - Main Room_

Yuri poked around on the small, green map, scrolling through the different sections of the city. Based off of Yusa's Intel, the city was exactly how she thought it would be; like a square with a plus sign running through it. The square part was the city itself, each of the nine sectors that made up the majority of the place. And the plus that ran through it was the direct paths from one gate to the one across the square from it.

"It really is big though… I wonder how much ground the guys will have to cover until we complete everything…" She eyed it over a couple more times before deciding to look for her teammates.

Before everyone had left to go out on Operation: Second Afterlife, they had all been given a tracking device. These devices would be tracked using the map that Takeyama created using Yusa's Intel; the map she currently had in her hands.

"Let's see…" She pushed a small button on the side, making several green dots appear on the screen. "Between all of the ones that went out, there should be eight marks…" She went through all of them, making sure to count properly. "Wait a minute… that's only seven." She zoomed out all the way to see the entirety off the holographic city. "Two in the Southwest… One in the middle… One in the Northwest… Two in the North… One in the Southeast. No matter how you look at it, that adds up to seven people." She scanned around, looking for the last mark. But no matter what she tried, nothing showed up. "Did somebody not take a tracker? No, that can't be it…"

The marks on the map flashed continuously, each of them not moving an inch while the map was zoomed out so much. Yuri moved her finger on the map downwards, making the picture go down a little. But when she let go, it re-centered itself.

"That leaves one last possibilty. Not even someone like Yusa could explore past those gates, and that means that someone is outside the city." Yuri smiled to herself at the thought. "So who's our mystery operative?"

* * *

Hinata sneezed, the sound echoing through the dark corridors of the cave. He grimaced from the suddenness of it as it slightly hurt his nose.

"Am I catching a cold? Haven't had one of them in a long time." He wiped his nose with his finger and kept walk forward through the darkness that was the cave. "Now, all I need to do is…" Hinata stopped in his tracks upon something going through his ear. It was a very distinct sound, separate from all the other sounds that he had constantly heard the past hour. "Okay. What the hell is that?"

His interests already piqued, Hinata moved towards the sound. It seemed pretty far off, but since the was rest of the cave was just about as quiet as a graveyard, it was easy to follow it. As he moved closer, it grew louder and louder, and eventually had a noticeable ring to it.

"Sounds like… running water?" Hinata's guess was educated, not to mention right. After another three minutes of making his way through the dark cave halls, he came across a small opening in the rocks that led to a naturally made river. "No way! An underground river!?"

It was about seven feet wide, and seemed to stretch on endlessly in both directions. Not only that, but it gave off a faint light that allowed Hinata to see clearly around him after an hour of blindly walking.

"Must've been formed by rain water. At least, back when this world had rain. I wonder where it's base is." He looked to his left and right, but couldn't see an end to it either way. "Well, unless I go back the way I came to get here, following the river is the only path. That's obvious, but…" No matter how hard he looked, there was no way to follow it without jumping right in. "I'm all for a swim, but how deep is this thing?"

He looked around, pointlessly looking for something he could stick in the river to try and figure out how deep it was. Needless to say, he found nothing.

"Bummer." He looked intently at the flowing water, debating whether or not to go into it. "Well, good thing I'm not Fujimaki." Hinata slowly crouched down and put on leg out over the water, then slowly dipped it in. "Also good thing that I'm dead, otherwise I might catch a cold."

Within seconds, Hinata was waist deep in the cold water. The sudden change in the temperature around him made him shiver, but he was relieved that the water wasn't too deep.

"Now then. Which way?" He looked to his left, and then to his right, deciding which way to go. "Doesn't matter!" With his proclamation, he closed his eyes and spun around, walking in the direction he was facing when he stopped. "Off we go!"

Hinata slowly waded through the large river, not knowing exactly where he was going. Being over halfway submerged, he couldn't move very fast, but he kept going regardless of both these things.

"Talk about cold." He shivered as he took another step, dragging his leg ahead of his body. "And it's hard to walk like this too." Once again, he smiled to himself for no apparent reason. "Just keep moving, Hideki. It's all you need to do."

He held his pistol at shoulder height for two reasons. One, so it didn't get wet and thus, useless. And two, so he was ready for an attack. Figuring that getting attacked in the water would be bad, since he couldn't dodge all that well. Not being able to dodge meant using more ammo. And using more ammo meant getting screwed when he ran out. All of those were things he wanted to avoid; not that he could.

"I've been walking through this water for a good ten minutes and his still hasn't curved or ended. How long _is_ this thing?"

* * *

_Unknown Area_

The small girl looked upwards, staring at the massive waterfall that crashed down in the room up the hill from where she lay. It had been there from the minute she arrived, but the water never seemed to poor down the hill, so she figured something was catching the water.

But something was different about the waterfall. It was all she was able to see for almost a week straight, so she could tell when it changed. She could tell that something was in it, breaking the normal patterns of the river it came from.

Something was drawing closer.

"What the hell! Stop dragging me, dammit!" The voice echoed in the room, coming from above the waterfall. It was familiar to her. "Where did this damn current come from!? Huh… A WATERFALL!? Oh, HELL NO!" She hurt, but she smiled as the tears she thought had dried up began to flow again. "AHHH!"

There was a loud crash as the source of the voice went over the side and slammed into the ground below, and groaning in pain soon after.

"That's the last time I ride with Air River. Ouch…" Hinata rubbed the back of his head in pain as he looked down the nearby hill. As his eyes rested on the small girl in the middle of the tiny room in front of him, he smiled. "Well… it's about time." He took a few steps and dropped onto the hill, sliding down it feet first. When he reached the bottom, he went to the girl.

"Hi… nata…" Hinata knelt down and scooped her in his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… Yui."

* * *

Yay! Touching moment! Everyone cheer for Hinata and Yui! This Chapter, as you might have noticed, is all about Hinata and his mission. I was going to save this one for a little later, but you all wanted to see it. The next one will focus one somebody elses mission, and will pick up a left out part of the original story! Look forward to it. Until Next Time~


	11. Judo Lock

Sorry for the wait, but here it is! Chapter 11. We're back up and ready to go Fandom, get ready for some ep-ic action. Enjoy

* * *

"Huh?" Yuri sat in her office, studying some reports Yusa had just brought in, when the holographic map began to beep. "What's up with this thing?" She looked at the flashing dots on the screen before deciding to pick it up and check what it was. The map now showed one of the green dots that marked where her teammates were flashing right in front of the building.

"Yuri!" Chaa's voice came to her from outside the room. There was a sense of urgency in his voice, something which Yuri found odd.

"Chaa!?" She quickly pushed her chair back and got out of it. After a couple seconds, she ran to and out of the door. "Chaa. What's going on?"

"Just look." He pointed to the entrance of the room, and as Yuri turned her head, she saw a beaten Hinata walking in the door, carrying a small, pink haired girl on his back.

"Hinata!"

"Honey, I'm home." Hinata greeted them with a smile, just before collapsing on the ground.

**Chapter 11: Judo Lock**

It slammed down upon the ground with a massive impact, making the very foundation of the Earth shake under the weight of the attack it produced. The dust and debris that had settled on the ground over the years rose up in a humongous cloud, covering the Smasher's entire body. As the dust settled back onto the ground, and pieces of wood rained back into street, the creature no longer stood. In its place; the large black rope that had produced the attack.

"What in… the hell was that…?" Matsushita began to pick himself up off the ground. The sheer impact of the whip crashing down upon the ground forced him backwards, making him fall over. "And where's that monster?"

"Crazy…" T.K. had been forced onto his back as well, but neither of them knew what had produced the attack that wiped the Smasher out in a single shot.

"My apologies… They can get so out of hand sometimes." A man began to step into the dust cloud. "If you don't punish them every once in a while, they tend to get rowdy." At first, his face couldn't be seen, but as he kept walking towards T.K. and Matsushita, and the dust faded away, it became clear who he was. "Pleasure to meet you, humans."

"You… You're Saito!" Upon the accusation, the man now labeled as 'Saito' stopped advancing. The man Matsushita referred to was Battlefront's resident fishing maniac, who often brought his wagon of fishing gear from the Guild to assist in Operation: Monster Stream.

"Saito?" The man lifted his arm and arced it at the elbow, then preceded to look at his opened palm. "That must have been this fools name."

"What…?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, human. But I'm not the man you're looking for. I simply devoured his soul and took his appearance."

"You did WHAT!?" Upon the man's claim, Matsushita grabbed his Gatling and began to fire upon him.

"Such a short fuse." The man looked up from his hand at the barrage of bullets, and instantly held his already raised hand up. As he did this, the bullets stopped in midair, falling to the ground after they stopped firing. "But then again, it must have been another explosion that lit the fuse in the first place."

"How did you...?

"Easy. I _am_ a Shadow, after all." At his statement, the man vanished into thin air, leaving behind a black blob, which tunneled into the ground without making a hole.

"Impossible!"

"Crazy, dude!"

"As a Shadow, I possess certain abilities that you humans couldn't have in your wildest dreams." His voice rang out all around them, though he was still seemingly underground. "Abilities like these." The same black blob that entered the ground formed behind Matsushita. Not realizing this, Matsushita only stood still. The blob took Saito's form again, and he kicked Matsushita in the back with a powerful kick.

Matsushita fell to the ground from the sneak attack, and T.K. instantly responded by turning his pistols on Saito, firing them in rapid succession. Saito responded himself, once again sucking himself into the ground, this time appearing behind T.K. and taking him down the same way.

"On top of normal Shadow abilities, I also possess immense physical strength and the ability to hide my presence. But my main skill deals with beasts. I guess you could say that I'm the monster tamer."

"That's how you were able to kill that Smasher!" Matsushita was already standing up after the kick, much to Saito's displeasure. But that displeasure swiftly turned to joy.

"Smasher? Well, that's two names I'm going to use that you've made up. I rather like the name Saito. Mind telling me _your_ name?"

"Matsushita the 5th."

"5th?"

"I'm a 5th rank Black Belt in Judo. People call me 'the 5th' out of respect."

"Interesting. You must be strong." Saito held his hand to the side and clenched his fist. "Let's see if you can block this." In his enclosed palm, a small, black light began to shine. That light soon formed into the massive, whip like weapon that cut the Smasher in half. "This is my Teimamonsuta. I use it to punish the Shadow Creatures." He spun his arm around his head and threw it forward, making the whip do the same.

"Whoa!" The whip came crashing down towards Matsushita, who quickly dodged out of the way with a barrel roll.

"That's no fun! I said BLOCK!" He spun it around again and began slamming it down upon the street with amazing speed. Despite the flurry of attacks, Matsushita kept dodging. "Damn. You're no fun at all, Matsushita the Fifth." Saito frowned and reluctantly stopped his attack.

Matsushita was already out of breath. Dodging the whip was a lot of work, not to mention stressful, and there were so many that he had to stop counting. The man that stole Saito's soul was powerful and, probably even more so, dangerous.

_'This guy is insane. There's no way I'll be able to get a shot off at him with that whip in the way. And even if I do, he'll just stop it. I'll need to use a light grenade to stop him.'_ Matsushita ran his hand down to his side to grab the light grenade, but felt nothing. _'Damn! I used it already?"_

"Open!" Matsushita snapped from his thoughts, and back into reality, just as the massive whip came crashing down onto him.

"AHHH!" He screamed in pain as he was sent flying backwards from the sheer force and weight of the weapon. It sent him back a good twelve feet before he finally crashed back to the ground. "Gah, ha, ha." He started to cough, spurting blood upwards out of his mouth. The front of his shirt was now ripped open completely, and a large, bloody scar was now etched onto his chest.

"Hmph. Still in one piece. I guess all those bones get in the way. Stupid humans." Saito began to step forward before remembering the other human he had kicked down. He turned to face where T.K. had been laying, but was shocked to see that he was gone. _'What!? Did the world warp his body…?'_

"You… bastard!"

"Hmm?" Saito looked over at Matsushita again as the latter began to stand, despite his immense injuries. "Wow. You're tough."

"Don't count me out just yet." Matsushita pushed himself up into a crouching stand, with his knees barely bent. "I can still fight."

"Is that so?" Saito moved his hand in an infinity shape and quickly raised it up, only to slam it back down, which made his Teimamonsuta do the same. Once again, it crashed down right on top of Matsushita, who didn't have enough power to dodge.

"GAHH!" The whip knocked him back down into the ground, this time going over his head and striking him in the back. He fell onto one knee, and spit a large amount of blood onto the ground, but still began to stand up again.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Saito once again threw his hand up, making the whip fly into the air. As it went completely straight, he moved his hand down and to the side, creating a side attack, which hit Matsushita full on for a third time. He screamed in pain again as he flew backwards a second time.

_"Senpai! We can't give up like this!"_

_"Sorry, Matsushita… It's over. Besides, there's always next year, right?"_

_"NO! I can't accept this!"_

_"Matsushita! Wait!"_

_In the distance, tires screeching could be heard just before the sound of a car crashing._

_"Hey. Why don't you join the Battlefront? We'd be a lot better off with somebody as strong as you."_

_"You're wrong. I'm not strong. But I'll help you as much as I can. That much, I promise."_

Matsushita began coughing up blood again as he lay on the ground, completely immobilized from Saito's attacks. This time he didn't stand up. Saito walked to where his body now sat and began to push it with his foot.

"Stupid human. How weak… GAH!" Saito felt… pain. Immense pain. Like something had pierced his shoulder, and gone all the way through. "What… What is this feeling!?" He looked at where the feeling was coming from, and saw that his shoulder was leaking the same red liquid that Matsushita was. "Bl- BLOOD!?" Saito fell to his knees and clenched his shoulder, like he was feeling pain for the first time. "Where are you!?"

* * *

"I'm right here." He looked back at me with rage in his eyes, and blood on his shoulder. I could tell he wasn't happy that I had just shot him, so his anger wasn't uncalled for. What surprised me… was his tears. It was like he hadn't ever experienced pain before. "If you're smart, you'll stay put."

"O- Otonashi?"

"Hey, Matsushita the Fifth." Matsushita was on the ground, a large scar going up the length of his chest. There was blood on his shirt, and all over the ground. The scar on his chest was still bleeding, meaning he was in critical condition. "Looks like I made it just in time."

I kept my gun aimed at the man who still held the whip-like weapon in his hands. My common sense led me to the conclusion that he was the reason for Matsushita's injuries, though I hadn't seen him do it. I recognized him, but couldn't place my finger on just who it was.

"How dare you shoot me! I'll teach you not to mess with superior beings!" I took a step back and aimed my gun at his head as he began picking his whip back up, but just as a reflex. I already knew how it was going to play out. He screamed in pain again as he picked up the handle, and then fell to his face. "Why…?"

"I shot your arm. You won't be able to use it for a while. Lifting such a heavy object when there's a bullet lodged in your shoulder might make you lose the arm entirely, so I'd watch myself." I moved the gun's barrel to the side, along with my head. "Move away from Matsushita, slowly."

He was obviously still angry, but there wasn't much he could do. He couldn't wield his weapon, so he couldn't fight. We both knew that, so he could only oblige. He picked himself from the ground and began to back away from my injured friend. As he moved away, I moved forward, and kept my gun on him the whole time.

"You came just in time, buddy." He smiled, and looked at me through the only eye he could get open. "I thought I was done for… Thought I probably don't have a long time left." He laughed at his humorless joke as I knelt down beside him.

"Don't talk like that. We're still not sure if we can actually die in this world."

"Say what you want, I can feel it."

"So, who is this guy?"

"That's Saito, Battlefront's resident fishing freak." Now that he said it, I began to realize that he was right. He was the guy that helped us catch 'The Master'. "Some Shadow took over his soul."

"That's… odd." Matsushita looked at me with a wondering gaze, as if to say 'why?'. "I thought that… when a Shadow took over your soul, you just became an NPC."

"Yeah… You're right! That happened to Takamatsu back in the School World!" I stood up, my gun still pinpointed at Saito's head.

"Hey, you. How did you take over Saito's soul without turning him into an NPC?"

"I'm an elite." His lack of hesitation sort of made me disappointed.

"That was… easy. What makes you elite?"

"I'm sort of an evolved form. I guess?"

"You guess!?" _Why is everything and everyone I meet so stupid!?_

"Yeah. I have different powers and skills and abilities."

"Okay…" I decided to ignore the conversation, since it lacked any amount of excitement at all, and knelt back down. "Don't worry, Matsushita the Fifth. I'll get you back to HQ, then Yusa or Takeyama can treat you." For some reason, the word 'Christ.' popped into my head, and really annoyed me.

"No! You have to… beat him!"

"Hm. Haha…" I heard laughing, like someone was mocking us. "HAHAHAHA!" I looked over my shoulder to see Saito laughing like a mad man, something which puzzled me. Just moments ago, he was writhing in pain. "I knew that stealing a human's body was a bad idea, but they wouldn't listen. But no matter, I'll just kill you both the _easy_ way!"

His body began to glow with a black light, and then shook uncontrollably. Soon after, the black light began to rise out of the top, and formed in to large Shadow. Saito's body immediately fell to the ground after the Shadow left it.

"Now, humans." A large mass of blackness shot out of its side and grabbed the whip, picking it up and throwing it in the air. His injuries had vanished when he took another form, since I only injured Saito's body.

"No way!"

"HOLY CRAP!"

"DIE!" The Shadow that possessed Saito's body swung the massive whip down at me, and I didn't have time to get out of the way. But I didn't have to. Matsushita, still injured, pushed me out of the way and grabbed the whip in his hands.

"Matsushita the Fifth!" He was on one knee, trying to hold up the massive whip. It looked like a normal whip, but it was probably four times his own weight, so he struggled to keep it from smashing him down.

"Go! Shoot him!" At his order, I aimed my pistol at the floating black mass and began to rapidly fire, but to no avail. 'Saito' held his other 'arm' up an each of the bullets stopped in midair before hitting him. "No…"

I stopped pulling the trigger, since I was just wasting ammo, and looked back at Matsushita, who was beginning to go down under the weight of the whip. _Damn!_

"Humans are too weak to be allowed to live!" Everything that happened after Saito's proclamation went by in slow-motion. I aimed at Saito again, Matsushita shouted in pain, and then… she came.

My eyes widened as I saw a flash of silver light shoot through the sky, spinning like a drill. In mere seconds, it tore through Saito's body, and destroyed the entirety of the whip, making both fall to the ground. Within second after the attack, the drill-like substance ended its spinning and landed on the ground on one knee. And as her hair fell upon her back, I almost began to cry.

"Guard Scale: Hand Sonic, Drill Mode."

* * *

"What!? A CLIFF-Hanger!? Pie, you douche." Yeah, its a semi-cliffhanger, but get over it, more will be coming soon. This is Matsushita's little arc of the story. His "past" was the stuff in italics right before Otonashi showed up, so... Yeah. Short, and not delved deeply into, but whatever! Until Next Time~

(Side Note: Okay, Let's Delve. My Thoughts Are That Matsushita's Regret In Life Was Losing A Judo Championship. He Was A Second Year In Highschool When He Was Chosen To Represent The School's Team In The National Championships. His Team Lost, However, And He Blamed Himself. Upon His Senior's Words That "There's Always Next Year", He Runs Out Of The Building And Gets Hit By A Car, Instantly Killing Him.)


	12. Don't Stop The Music

Good, GOD, this was late... My apologies! -Bows Deeply- So sorry, but I had to push back the release date for reasons I don't care to disclose. So get over it! Unto the breach! (lolwut?) Chapter 12. Enjoy.

* * *

It was dark, and the air felt cool and calming against his skin. It had been a while since he felt like this, the air around him seeming to relax his every muscle. It had seemed that recently, he had only been fighting and worrying about every little thing that happened to happen. It was nice to finely take a break and breathe.

"Doctor… what's it like?" He heard voices, but when he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. His eyelids brushed by what felt like cloth. The first voice was quivered and shaky, like the person talking was crying.

_'I can't see. That voice sounds like… Mom?'_

"Well, given the obvious injuries, he won't be able to see out of his left eye. But after the tests, we've found that-" This voice was stern, yet sounded like it was forcing comfort.

_'Injuries? Tests? What the hell is going on here?'_

"He suffered minor injuries all around his body, including a few fractured ribs and a few broken fingers. But, other than that…" The man sighed before continuing. "His left and right fibulas are both shattered completely, and there are multiple fractures along the length of the right femur, as well as the waist and hip. I'm afraid your son isn't going to be able to walk ever again, ma'am." At that, the woman broke down and began to cry loudly, sobbing as she fell to the ground.

"Oh, no! My poor T.K.!"

_'But… that's me. My legs… my legs are broken!?'_

"AHH!" He lurched forward, disregarding the screams from his mother and the doctor, and tried to get out of the bed. Upon getting onto his feet, he felt an intensely sharp pain in his legs, and fell down upon the cold tile. "What's going on!?"

"T.K.! Please calm down!" He tried to stand, but only fell back to his face before he could even get on his knees.

"My legs… MY LEGS HURT SO MUCH! And I can't see!" He threw his hands up to his face and, with a scream, began ripping the bandages away from his eyes.

"No! Don't do that, boy!" The doctor took a few steps before realizing that it was too late. He had already ripped the majority of them away, and his eyes were visible.

"What… What is this?" The long string of cloth fell to the ground, and the blond-haired boy saw his reflection in the newly polished tile floor of the hospital room. One eye began to leak tears, while the other did nothing. It did nothing, as it was gone from his face entirely. A small drop of blood fell from the empty socket, and he went unconscious again.

**Chapter 12: Don't Stop The Music**

"He did _what_!? With all due respect, Captain, I'm not sure that's even possible!"

"I don't see it being possible either, Takeyama. But that's what he did. You didn't add in the ability to turn those trackers off, right?" Takeyama sighed and looked at his leader with displeasure.

"No, I didn't. I built them to your specifications. No off switch, and powered by a battery that can't die."

"Well, then that's the only explanation. His tracker wasn't showing up on Yusa's map, and out of nowhere it began showing right outside the HQ, meaning he came here straight from where he was." Yuri looked down at the blue-haired boy laying on the large couch, the girl still in his arms. Neither of them had moved for the entire three hours they had been unconscious. "The only logical answer is that Hinata forced a jump."

He awoke with a sudden jolt, and opened his eyes to see the same thing he always did; the redness of the cloth that hindered his sight. He remained still, lying on the cold stone of the road. Not knowing what had happened, he lifted himself up, and began to rub his forehead. After remembering that he had passed out during a fight, he sighed

* * *

"Another warp. Crazy." Still sitting, he bent one leg and wrapped his arm around it, then placed his chin on the raised knee. "But why do I have to start thinking about the past now?"

_"Okay, we're going to insert it now. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"_

_"Then here goes."_

_"Ahh! Doctor! Extremely abnormal signs. His body is rejecting the serum!"_

_"What! NO! Please, boy, hold on!"_

"No use harping on what happened. Time is money!" T.K. stood and cracked his neck, and began to walk down the street. But it still lingered over him, the things that happened in the past.

It was quiet, with no living beings in visible sight. The streets were like a desolate wasteland right in the middle of a city, with nowhere to go but deeper into the emptiness. In the middle of this empty city, he walked, searching for his meaning at this specific area.

_"If we can each go where we're supposed to go and do whatever task we're given… We can finally figure out how to get the hell out of here and finally go home."_

"Nice plan, Hinata. But what's this task?" It struck the boy odd that the world moved his body a second time. He had been warped to the same place that Matsushita had been warped to, the South West sector, but now he didn't know where he was. "Knocked out. Crazy."

Despite being confused, and lost, the boy continued to put random English words in his sentences, for whatever reason.

It was dark and kind of chilly outside on that particular night. There weren't any streetlights on the road, and even if there was, they most likely wouldn't work anyway. He wasn't sure if it was always this cold, but it _was_ always this dark. In fact, the sun hadn't risen of the horizon even once. It was very ominous.

Looking down the road, the boy named T.K. could see a few normal sights, like that of an everyday Japanese street. A few homes of different sizes scattered around, a few places that looked like shops, and even what looked like a school in the distance. All in all, it was average.

The only thing that stood out was the looks of it. While it seemed perfectly normal, one could tell that all the buildings lacked color. Everything was made of wooden boards, like everything had been stripped away from the building, leaving nothing but the framework. And not only that, that wood was rotted to the core.

He started his search for… he didn't know what, by searching each and every individual building; the homes, shops, side stores, everything. It was fairly safe to assume that he wouldn't be reprimanded for trespassing, since all of the residents of this mysterious city had been killed off. So, he took the time to thoroughly search every single inch of building.

But it was quite difficult to find something when he didn't know what he was looking for in the first place.

"Damn…" T.K. slowly slid the drawer of a kitchen counter closed and walked out the back door connected to the kitchen. This was the tenth home he had searched, and he hadn't found anything even remotely useful. "And on top of that…"

His stomach made a low, almost inaudible, groan. Even if he couldn't hear it himself - and he could - he could still feel it. He was getting hungry.

Unfortunately, every single place of residence that had a fridge had nothing edible in that fridge. Electronics didn't work, and that meant that all the food was rotted into an unidentifiable mush. And that meant that T.K. was left without a source of food.

None of the SSS knew if dying was allowed within the current afterlife, but that mean he wanted to find out, and he definitely want to test it by starving himself; Yuri had done that enough for him to know that starvation was one crappy way to go.

Suddenly, as if the world knew he was on edge and wanted to piss him off even more, there was an explosion that sounded very close. Looking back, he saw an immense dust cloud rising behind some buildings on the opposite side of the street.

"Worried or happy?" T.K. sighed, not knowing if the explosion should make him upset that there was bound to be a fight, or overjoyed at the fact that something had finally happened. "Oh well."

* * *

_Middle Sector - Bombed Out School_

T.K. stepped into the blown out building, he pistol already drawn and ready to fire. He wasn't exactly sure what had caused the explosion that occurred only a few minutes ago, but he wanted to be ready for anything. After all, he and T.K. had been attacked by some unknown person with a human figure.

He had said he stole the soul and body of Saito, Battlefront's ex-fishing maniac, but that didn't give enough information. When Takamatsu had his soul 'stolen', he merely transformed into an NPC. It wasn't exactly clear how he had possessed Saito, but one thing was clear; it had become a danger.

"Crazy…" T.K. was referring to the school building which had been blown up. On the front side, very close to what looked like the main entrance, there was a gaping hole that took up an entire half of the wall. Whatever had caused the explosion wasn't small.

That was when a very sharp pain hit T.K.'s head, and left as quickly as it had come. It was something of a sixth sense that alerted him to the presence of Shadows. Upon feeling it, T.K. clicked his tongue and prepared to fight them.

* * *

_Shadow Being World - South West Sector_

"Kanade!" I inadvertently shouted her name from nothing more than pure happiness as she lifted her head. I wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but it certainly looked like we had won.

Upon hearing her name, she looked up and, after a moment, her eyes settled on me. Our gazes met, and we both smiled. I wasn't looking at him, but I could tell that Matsushita was smiling too.

Almost immediately after our eyes met, she ran over to me and practically knocked me down with a hug.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" Her running into me sent a small shock of pain through my body, but I chose to ignore it. I had no real right to be in pain when I compared my condition to Matsushita's.

"Uh, hey now. Matsushita the Fifth is the one who's injured here." I looked over at his happy-go-lucky smile that really didn't fit the mood and frowned. "Are you going to be alright?"

His breathing was erratic, and the wounds on his chest were still bleeding, but he kept smiling like he couldn't feel anything. Guess that was because he had been cut in half more than once in the school world.

"Not really sure. I think my body has gone numb due to shock."

"Uh… I might… be able to… help." I looked down at Kanade in shock, not knowing exactly what she meant. "That is… Takeyama and I developed new Guard Scale abilities."

"New… abilities?" She nodded slightly and released her overly adorable grip on my chest. After that she kneeled down at Matsushita's side and placed her hand over her chest. Then she spoke in her almost robotic voice.

"Guard Scale: Restoration." A small, bluish light expanded outward from her extended hand, and the large scar going up the length of Matsushita's fairly large chest began to close.

"Amazing!"

"It is a technique I suggested be made so that I could help my friends."

_'Her friends, huh? Looks like Kanade's finally starting to open up to everyone else little by little… That's good.'_ I was honestly happy at the fact that Kanade had actually developed a skill she could use to heal. It was like we were moving farther and farther away from these pointless fights.

After all, that was what we had wanted when we left; for all of the fighting to end. Even me, someone who hadn't been in the School World long, wanted to enjoy a peaceful life. I couldn't imagine how people like Yurippe or Kanade, who had been fighting since they arrived, felt.

"That should do it." The light on her hand faded and she straightened herself up, brushing her legs off with her hands. "The effects of the technique put him to sleep, so we should get his body somewhere safe." I nodded in agreement, and walked over to pick Matsushita up.

* * *

_Middle Sector - Inside the School_

T.K. stepped inside of the building and pulled the trigger of his pistol once more, sending a bullet through the eyes of the last Shadow in the area. He had fought them for over ten minutes, so he figured they didn't want him getting any closer than he already was. But it seemed like they had either ran out of monsters, or retreated.

"Adios, amigos." Not even he was sure why he spoke Spanish, but it seemed cool at the time. With the 'battlefield' cleared, T.K. took a quick look around. It wasn't any different from a normal school building, but it had distinct differences from the one in the School World.

He wasn't really sure why there had been a school in a world that was meant to house souls of middle-aged people, but he really didn't care enough to think about it twice. Whatever the reason, it was there, and it was definitely suspicious.

He began his search by looking around for anything relevant to… well, he still wasn't quite sure _what_ he was looking for in the first place, so he just looked for things that seemed out of the ordinary. Compared to a home or shop, finding out of place things would be a lot easier in a school.

After the lobby, he moved to the hallways, and from there he searched each and every classroom. He searched each of the broken desks, around the chairs, and even tried moving some chalkboards to find something like a hidden hole. But after half an hour of searching, he just about gave up.

"Impossible." He took a seat on a worn-out bench in the hallway and sighed heavily. He wasn't finding anything, and he was already exhausted. But then something occurred to him, and he felt renewed in an instant.

He got up and ran, looking for the steps, and ran up them upon finding them. After that, he found another flight and climbed them as well. Now on the third floor, he ran about the hallway until he found a door labeled "Principal's Office".

He looked through the small glass window on the door and saw something he had seen from outside; the massive hole in the wall. The explosion had occurred from in the room.

He grabbed the handle and turned it, only to fins it had been locked, so he pulled out his pistol and smashed the glass window. After he had successfully opened the door, he walked inside the destroyed room. The explosion had scattered and torched everything, but one thing was left standing. A desk.

It was a normal office desk, with a wooden top and black metal underneath. That black metal made up three drawers, and one was still closed. T.K. walked towards it and opened that drawer, and he found something useful for once.

A small, wooden box, which contained multiple C4 charges and a remote detonator.

* * *

Okay, so that was T.K.'s job/arc/story. Read the side note down there to see it expanded! Well, it was late, but long so... Forgiven? Of course not! Okay, next week (Hopefully) we'll have the final little arc, and will have everything start to wrap up. Second Afterlife is coming to a close soon, so get ready for an epic climax! Until Next Time~

(Side Note: So Here's T.K.'s Story - He Had Just Won A Major Dancing Competition And, As He Was Leaving The Building It Was Held In With His Trophy, He Was Confrotned By The Guy WHo Got Second Place And A Group Of The Guy's Friends. They Drug Him Into An Alley And Mercilessly Beat The Crap Out Of Him For "Making The Guy Look Bad", And When He Was Almost Down And Out, The Second Place Guy Grabbed A Metal Pipe And Began Wailing On T.K.'s Legs. T.K. Passed Out From The Pain, But The Guy Kept Going. Just For Good Measure, Took The Trophy T.K. Had And Sliced His Face Open With It. He Awoke In The Hospital With Broken Legs And... Dun Dun _DUN_... A Missing Left Eye. [This Will Be Expanded Upon Further In The Next Chapter!] After Monthes Of Rehabilitation, The Doctors Asked Him If He Wanted To Test A New Drug Which Could Possibly Restore His Leg Bones So That He Could Walk Again. However, Something Went Wrong With The Initial Tests, And The Drug Ended Up Killing Him. -Tears Up- Yeah, I Actually Cried While I Wrote This Chapter...)


	13. Over 9000 Percent Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!

FANDOM. What is this!? I actually got a O:SA Chapter up at the right time!? Is the world about to implode...? Okay, let's not waste this only-gonna-happen-once event and get to it! Chapter 13. Enjoy.

* * *

Inside of a large room that used to be what looked a bar lounge, there was a good of unique people. One of these people had purple hair and wore a green ribbon in it. One of these people had peach colored hair and glasses. One of these people looked to be in his mid-30s when he was actually only 18. Another one was short and had brown hair.

One of these people had blue hair, and was lying unconscious on a large couch, holding another unconscious person with pink hair in his arms.

These people were, of course, Yurippe, Takeyama, Chaa, Ooyama, Hinata, and Yui. About seven hours ago, Hinata had come up with a theory, plan, and strategy to help Battlefront get along with the mission they had been given. And only a couple hours ago, Hinata had returned.

The plan was to send out all of the capable operatives, seven in total, and have the programming of the aptly named "Shadow World" send them to various places by rendering there consciousness away and teleporting them. When they "jumped", they would find out what they had to do in the area they moved to, and do it.

Hinata was the first, and only, one back. Apparently, his job had been to rescue on of the two missing Battlefront operatives from a grim fate at the hands of the Shadows. But there was a problem.

Hinata, like the rest of the operatives who went out, was being tracked by a combination of two high-tech devices created by Yusa and Takeyama, the smartest people of Yuri's band of idiots. Those devices were tracking devices and a map which displayed the locations of those tracking devices.

However, in the midst of the operation, one of those tracking devices, which couldn't be turned off, lost its signal. This meant that one of the operatives had gone out of the field of coverage, which was the city.

Right before Hinata came in the door with Yui, that missing mark came back into the field of coverage. It didn't simply enter the range, it moved into it. Instead of appearing on the edge, it appeared right outside the door of the new Battlefront HQ.

Besides that, there was seemingly no way out of the city. The edges were surrounded by an invisible wall, like they were trapped inside of some real time RPG video game. In the middle of each side of that massive wall, were gates. One gate to each side. But those gates were locked tightly, and couldn't be forced open.

With all that information, it was plausible that somehow or another, Hideki Hinata had forced the programming to send him from outside the city, directly to where he wanted to go. In other words, he may have "forced a jump".

Four of the six unique people -who were actually the only conscious ones - were currently thinking about all this, and they all found it hard to believe.

"Look." The small boy with glasses slammed his wrist down upon the armrest of the chair he was sitting on. "I find this to be entirely impossible." He moved his hand up to his face and adjusted his glasses, making a glare shine across the lenses despite the lack of light. "We're talking about human's teleporting here! Even in Japan, they haven't found a method for instant teleportation!"

"I don't see what the big deal is." Yurippe, who was relaxed and clam when compared to Takeyama, only sighed as she sat in her comfy chair behind the wooden desk. She had her feet up on the desk and was leaning back as far as the chair would let her. "We've both seen it in action; the programming can move us around."

"Yes, I understand that, Captain. However, this is not a  
normal world. Hinata moving on his own and him being moved _by_ the world are two completely different things!"

"Hah?" Yuri gained a bored expression as she forced out the noise.

"Please take this seriously, Captain!" Takeyama covered his face with his hand and shook his head. "We're never going to figure this out if you're like this."

"Yuri, if I may." Chaa cleared his throat. "I think I understand what Christ is trying to say." Unlike everybody else, Chaa actually called Takeyama by his desired name. Not even Takeyama knew why. "The programming that makes up this world his different from the physics of a normal world. Kind of like an alternate reality."

"Yes, that's along the right lines." Takeyama threw his head back to make it rest against the back cushion of the chair. "Think of it as being inside of a computer."

"A computer?"

"Give me a minute." He reached over and picked up a small black bag and pulled out a laptop. "Using the spare parts, I was able to craft a small workable laptop." He began clicking away for a few minutes before standing up and taking the black box to the desk.

"What's this? A demonstration?" Takeyama merely nodded. On the screen was a document window. Inside of it were two folders. One named 'School World', and the other named 'Real Life'.

He double clicked the 'Shadow World' folder and it brought up a screen with more folders named 'City', 'Outside', and 'Gates.' He then clicked open City which had more folders in it. There were nine, each labeled after the nine separate sectors of the city. He opened up the one named 'South East' which housed five little avatar-like pictures. They were named 'Yuri', 'Christ', 'Chaa', 'Hinata', and 'Yui'.

"What's up with all this Takeyama?" He resisted the urge to correct her and spoke.

"Pay attention. Right now, this computer is the afterlife programming. Folders represent different places, and people are nothing more than simple files. Like a picture file, we can easily be clicked, drug, and dropped into another folder." He clicked his own avatar and moved it to the side, releasing it into the 'South' folder. "This is how it works."

"Okay, that makes sense, but you're kind of proving yourself wrong."

"On the contrary, Captain, I'm stating my point. Whoever has control of the computer controls the files inside, not the files themselves. A picture on a computer can't simply say 'well, I'm going to that folder' and move itself, that can only be done by a person on the outside. It works the same way in this situation."

"Meaning, according to how you see it, the world can move us because it has control over the files, but we wouldn't be able to move on our own?"

"Exactly. There are _some_ differences, though. Like interaction, for example."

"Interaction?"

"Take Hinata's case into mind again. He desperately wanted to save that girl, and the programming decided to move him as close as he could get."

"Well, couldn't you use that same scenario to explain how he moved back?"

"Perhaps… But I don't think that this is the case." Takeyama opened the 'Outside' folder and created another folder named 'Where the girl was'. He then moved Hinata and Yui's avatars into it. "If you were to say that Hinata interacted with the programming to get to where she was, he could have been moved right to her, right?"

"I guess."

"Well, if that happened, he would've been back as soon as he left. Or even further explained, he would've gone without physically knowing that he had to." Ooyama, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke.

"It would've warped him before he had the plan."

"Precisely. I doubt we would've had to physically ask to me warped, because it would make no sense."

"Wait, wait, and wait!" Yuri slammed her hand on the desk three consecutive times as she spoke. "This is so freaking confusing! You keep contradicting what you say! Grrrrrr." She began pulling her own hair in frustration. Takeyama only sighed again.

"I'm saying that it was impossible for him to ask from where he was."

"Eh?" She stopped and looked at him. "Why do you… say that?"

"Think about it. If he wanted to be moved to Yui, the programming could've moved him to her, or even moved her to him. But it didn't; it made him go to her. That can only mean one of two things."

He held up a two fingers, and put one down.

"She was out of the 'jurisdiction' of the 'person' Hinata had 'asked' to move him." He moved his other finger down, making a fist. "Or she simply couldn't be found."

**Chapter 13: Over 9000 Percent Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!**

"DAMMIT!" There were multiple flashes that sliced through the cold air of the still night. "Dammit, dammit, dammit… DAMMIT!" They all came from a blade attached to a wooden handle. "Get away already!" The blade moved at dangerously high speeds, weaving around in circles, going up and down and left and right, slicing through the monsters.

"This is so stupid."

"SHIINA! YOU WANNA GIVE ME A HAND!?" Fujimaki gripped his Shirasaya tighter as he looked back at the girl in a scarf standing atop a building behind him. "SERIOUSLY!" He was surrounded by at least fifty massive black masses, all of which wanted to kill him.

Shiina, who stood still on the rooftop, didn't even look at him. She only sighed as he screamed at her.

"YOU TRAITOR!" He clenched his teeth and kept swinging around like a mad man, slicing away at the seemingly never ending pool of Shadows. _'Why does she have to pick now to act stoic? DAMN NINJA!'_

"Fujimaki." He heard her call his name, making him look back in disinterest. However, his dissatisfied look turned to shock in an instant.

"You crazy freaking… GAH!" He jumped backwards just as several dozen black knives flew through the air and stuck into the Shadows around him. They all flew straight through one Shadow, stuck into the ground, and stayed there as the Shadows disappeared into dust. "What… WHAT THE HELL SHIINA!?" He twisted his body to look at the ninja on the roof. "GIVE ME A LITTLE MORE WARNING THAN THAT!"

The girl flipped her long hair with her hand and turned her back to him again. It was apparent that she didn't care the slightest bit.

"Geez… What is up with her today? She's been so freaking quiet." _'Wait. It's not like Shiina actually does talk all that much, but… GAH! Whatever.'_ Fujimaki decided that thinking hurt is brain, so he sat down on the ground.

They hadn't really done much the whole seven hours since they first walked out the door of the new Battlefront HQ. In fact, Fujimaki didn't even think Shiina had been warped. He certainly had been, because he woke up a few hours prior to the current moment surrounded by Shadows.

About 30 minutes after he woke up, Shiina appeared on the rooftops and had apparently decided to stay.

Five hours had passed since then, and he hadn't even left the plaza he had been moved to. In fact, Fujimaki was pretty sure that his only 'job' here was to kill as much of the Shadows as he possibly could. 'Wouldn't be too bad of a job' he had thought; but after such a long time, it was getting tedious.

He wanted a change of pace.

"Hey, Shiina! I'm bored over here, come fight me." Without warning, the female ninja had entered his presence, like she had moved at the speed of light upon his challenge. She held another one of the black knives in her hand in what seemed like an offensive pose. "Wah! I was just kidding!"

Shiina ignored him and grabbed the collar of his shirt, forcefully throwing him behind her. As he moved, a large hole appeared in the ground and a Digger shot up from beneath the sidewalk.

"Get down." With those two simple words, Shiina had thrown Fujimaki to the ground and charged forward, slicing straight through the black worm-like creature. It let out a small yell before vanishing.

"W-Whoa…" _'That is one scary chick.'_ Shiina didn't move after she sliced through the Digger, and it looked like she was frozen. She stayed in the posture someone would have right after slicing a person's gut, but she didn't move an inch. "Hey, uh, Shiina?"

Shiina coughed once, and then fell to the ground.

"Hey! Shiina!" Fujimaki stood up and took the few steps towards her in one leap and kneeled down next at her side. "What's wrong with… Uh!" He noticed something wrong with the air. Surrounding him now were hundreds of microscopic black dots. It looked like dust floating in the air.

The Digger had been a trap; it had been filled with some sort of fog that messed with a person's brain. Noticing this, the delinquent looking boy scooped the ninja in his arms and jumped backwards.

"Crap. Those creatures are… annoying." He moved his arm to his mouth as he felt a cough coming, and when it was through, there was blood on his sleeve. "Ahh, no! Not… now…" He could no longer keep her up. Shiina's body slumped to the ground, and Fujimaki soon fell on top of her.

The trap had caught them both off guard, and they fell unconscious.

* * *

"Hmm? What in the hell… happened?" A girl with long, dark blue hair slowly opened her red eyes and took in the sights around her. It was nothing more than the clear view of a white ceiling and the not-so-clear view of a glass door in the corner of her eyes. "My… room?"

"Eri! Wake up, sleepy head, your friends are here!"

_'That voice… That's mother's voice.'_ She sat up and looked around. She had been lying on a futon without covering herself up. She looked at the traditional sliding door that separated her room from the hallway and heard many footsteps from the front door. _'But why? Did I reincarnate?'_

She slowly stood up and walked to a small end table to pick up some random object.

_'No… I can still remember everything. I was just with Fujimaki in the Shadow World. If I died and was reborn… It couldn't have all been a dream.'_ She looked down at herself and saw she was still wearing her SSS uniform. _'No. Definitely not a dream.'_

She was tense, more tense than she ever was before. She had to strong urge to balance pencils on her fingers, but decided against it. She heard the chattering of people outside her door, so she walked towards it.

_'I have a feeling this has happened before… But where?'_ She reached out for the door and slid it open. As she did, she saw a figure standing right on the other side, with her hand reached out like she was going to grab the handle.

"Eh? Oh, Eri. Nice timing." Standing there in the hallway outside the dimly lit room was a girl about the same height as Shiina with smooth looking pink-red hair that flowed just a little above her shoulders, and dark red eyes.

_'No… That's impossible!'_

"We still on for those crepes from the diner by the station?" She raised a hand, closed her eyes, and smiled widely.

_'I-Iwasawa!?'_

* * *

_Outside Shadow City_

A man sat upon a bench in a bright park. As he looked around, he saw a large fountain sitting in the middle of the circular area whose borders were decided by raised platforms with grass and trees. It was gently spraying water upwards a few meters into the air.

Kids whose mothers weren't around played in the fountain, splashing each other with the water. All around the raised platforms were benches that had all sorts of people doing different things on them. A good distance away from him, he could see the busy street packed with cars.

As he looked on at all of it, he sighed.

_'This isn't real.'_ He stood up from his bench and reached a hand up to his face to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one finger. _'None of this is real.'_

He unfocused his sight, and just let everything set into his vision. As he did, it all broke away. The ground crumbled and fell, the trees snapped in half, the fountain quietly exploded, the people vanished into thin air. And he was left alone, floating on nothing.

Several seconds later, massive worm-like creatures began rising from the invisible ground, coming up with amazing force. They shook the very non-existent ground he stood on. At least, that was all he could describe it as.

_'And now…'_ He refocused his gaze on a particular area of the air, and everything came rushing back. The ground, the trees, the fountain, the people; they all came rushing back like time had been rewound. He sighed again as he put his hands in his pockets and walked away from the bench.

_'How am I going to get the hell out of here?'_

Takamatsu thought quietly to himself as me moved through the park filled with happy people on a sunny day.

* * *

_Streets of Kyoto, Japan_

The girl who didn't have a real name, and was only called 'Shiina', moved along the sidewalk to keep up with the pace of the three girls in front of her. They each wore different clothes that didn't look out of place given that it was summer - short shorts, sleeveless tank tops, and fashionable hats. She was the only one that stood out.

The female ninja wore a white school uniform top with a light blue skirt. The skirt had two slits on the side that she had made to increase her speed. Her top was short sleeved.

She also wore a long, black scarf that covered the bottom half of her face. From the back of her palms to her elbows were black guards, and the same type of guards covered her lower thigh. Beneath these guards were black bandages.

And yet…

_'They haven't said anything about the SSS uniform yet.'_ She quietly walked behind the people she recognized as her friends from when she was alive. Her face was tense, and she couldn't stop wondering about it. Besides the fact that no one had mentioned the clothes, there was something else amiss.

"Yeah, I know, right? What's up with that guy?" Walking just a little bit ahead of her, chatting and laughing with the other two, was Masami Iwasawa.

_'This doesn't make any sense. I don't know everything about my own past, but Iwasawa knew hers perfectly. And I am not in it. She's told everyone she barely had any friends when she was alive due to her parents.'_

"…n't that right? Uh… Eri?" She stopped thinking and glanced up when the girl who looked like Iwasawa spoke to her. All three girls were looking back at her with concerned looks. "Are you alright? You seem out of it. You're not sick, are you?"

"Oh… Uh, no. I was just… feeling like I had de ja vu all day." She gave a halfhearted, and forced, smile at them. Iwasawa took a step back and wrapped her arm around Shiina's shoulder.

"Well that's good! If you were sick we'd have to take you back home and then you couldn't pay for my crepes!" She closed her eyes and pointed her free arm to the air as she spoke in a sarcastic voice. Shiina frowned and spoke without thinking about it.

"I'm not paying for your food, Yukari." Shiina internally grunted at her own statement.

"Ehhh!? Why not?" The girl she spoke to gave her a fake puppy dog look and whimpered before spinning away from her and wrapping her arm around another girl. "How about you, Minami?" Shiina gave a faked smile as the girl referred to as 'Minami' pushed away the girl who looked like Iwasawa.

_'I called her Yukari. That settles it. This isn't just de ja vu. This is my old life; the day I died.'_ Shiina's normal expression returned. _'But why is this an in-body experience? I thought I would be floating above the world as a ghost if this was a dream.'_

She looked ahead at the girl who looked like Iwasawa and stared intently at her back. She knew what was going to happen, exactly as it was about to happen. Everything looked exactly the same as it did that day, except for her.

_'Why do you look like Iwasawa!?'_ Shiina caught a glimpse of something in the corner of her eyes as she passed in front of an alley. _'Was that…?'_

She stopped as her 'friends' kept moving. She was frozen with shock at what she had thought she saw. The girls ahead of her noticed she had stopped walking and turned to look at her again.

"Eri? What's up?" She ignored their questions and ran back a few feet to a window in a corner store. She stopped in front of it as the other girls turned and walked back towards her with interest.

_'What the hell is this?'_ She looked in the window, looking at the thing staring back at her.

"Oh! Eri's looking at jewelry!"

"Really! Oh, that one _is_ pretty."

"Hey, maybe your boyfriend will buy it for you if you ask him."

Shiina ignored their meaningless conversation entirely; she couldn't even hear them talking anymore. She was transfixed on what she saw in the window. Staring back at her as she peered at the glass, was herself.

A girl wearing a green, sleeveless tank top, brown cargo shorts, and sandals. A girl with short brown hair and bright, blue eyes. She had a piercing in her left ear and a long, fingerless, black glove on her left arm.

_'What in the hell is going on?'_ She stood up, fear beginning to enter her mind. _'No, dammit. Get ahold of yourself Shiina. Don't let this crap get to you.'_

There was an extremely loud horn that blew behind her. It was like the horn of a tanker truck. She and the girls surrounding her looked back to see why a tanker would be blowing its horn in the middle of town, and Shiina realized it.

_'This is…'_ She looked to the other side and saw a young boy standing in the road. _'No! I… can't!'_ Shiina felt her legs begin to move. _'I know what's going to happen if I move.'_ She spun her entire body around and her hand reached out to grab a nearby handrail on the sidewalk. As she grabbed hold of it, she pulled, making her entire body fling forward. _'I need answers! Why do I look like that? Why is Iwasawa here!? I CAN'T DO THIS NOW!'_

Despite her thoughts, her body moved on its own. She didn't have the will to stop herself despite knowing what was going to happen when she finished. As her feet made contact with the street, she felt her hand let go of the handrail. Her knees began to bend, and she leaned forward.

_'Why?'_ As her body went forward, he feet unhesitatingly pushed off the ground again. _'Why am I always like this?'_ She could feel the stares of horror from the girls behind her. _'Is it because of them? Did Battlefront shake my resolve? Or am I just not strong enough?'_

Her shoulders came inches away from the boy who was standing in the street, and she felt her arms move around his entire body.

_'Why do I still feel the need… to protect?'_ Her hands tightened, and then flung the boy away, sending him a few meters into another lane of the street. As he landed, he looked back. _'Why?'_

With a loud, ear piercing screech that shattered the quiet afternoon, the brakes of a tanker truck slammed its brakes only seconds too late.

And the girl named Shiina flew through air.

* * *

_SSS Battlefront Main HQ_

"What is up with this?" Yuri stood in the doorway separating the conference room from the main room and stared at the assortment of couches in wonder. "Just how… useless all are of you?"

Lying on a yellow couch was Hinata, who held Yui in his arms. Both of them had severe bruises and cuts. They were both asleep.

Lying on the floor on a couple of futons was Matsushita the Fifth. He had multiple lacerations across his chest. He was asleep.

Lying on a two-person seat was T.K. He had a massive head injury and a dislocated shoulder. He was asleep.

Sitting on another couch was Otonashi. Leaning over with her head on his shoulder was Kanade. They weren't injured, but they were asleep.

Sitting on an arm chair with an irritated look on his face was Noda. He had a massive wound on his right abdominal muscle which had been bandaged up. He was still awake.

And finally, standing up behind Noda's chair with his hands linked behind his back, was Naoi. He was uninjured but awake.

"You all… are out of commission?"

"No, the brat is still perfectly capable of moving. But he won't be of much help." Noda clicked his tongue.

"What was that? I'll have you know that I am God."

"God-Schmod. You're a brat."

"Both of you shutup. What happened to all of them?" Noda sighed and put his elbow against the arm of the chair, then placed his cheek against his fist. "Hinata said he sustained injuries after falling fifty meters down a waterfall. Yui was already in that condition. What about the others?

"According to Otonashi and Angel, Matsushita the Fifth sustained heavy damage from an unknown weapon while in the South West sector. They said some guy with Saito's body did it." Takeyama walked out from another room without his glasses on; he was wiping them with a small cloth. He spoke next as he did it.

"T.K. fell from a third floor building after he was cornered by Shadows. He said a school he had been in had a massive hole in it, and he was pushed down from it after acquiring these. He said he walked here." He pulled a small wooden case from his pocket and threw it to Yuri.

"What's all this?" She opened it and then gasped. "What the hell!?"

"C4 charges compressed into small boxes. They may look harmless, but they're powerful. At least fifty of them in there; I stopped counting." Yuri sighed and closed the box.

"What about you Noda?" He gave a small laugh before answering.

"Heh. What, this? You can go ahead and blame 'God' for this one." Naoi looked away from Noda with a worried smile. "He thought it would be fun to test some grenades we had found, but he dropped one. I saved his life."

"You jumped on it?"

"No. I kicked it away and the building it blew up sent shrapnel into me. Painful as hell."

"…I see. What about Kanade and Otonashi? Are they injured?"

"Nah. The punk has some minor scratches, including a bullet wound in his shoulder, but Angel's just fine. He was awake until a couple minutes ago." Yuri sighed again and leaned back against a wall. "Where's Chaa at?"

"He left with the blonde girl do help her with some reconnaissance."

"Wait, Noda. You found grenades?" Noda grunted in response at first, but Naoi gave a real answer.

"We found a whole stash of weapons. Assault rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, you name it. Unfortunately, they were all sealed underground by the explosion. But… we managed to get this." He pulled a thin, golden key from his shirt pocket.

"A key? What's it to?" Yuri walked over and grabbed it. "Some box of weapons?"

"No. It's to a gate."

* * *

_Kyoto, Japan_

"Damn."

Shiina felt like she was floating in air. Around her, there was nothing. No wall, no floor, no roof. Just pure white nothingness.

"I let myself get killed again."

She felt no pain, but she knew she wasn't alive.

"Could I have really stopped it? Did God give me another chance? Or was it just a dream?"

She raised and arm and stared at her hand.

"..na!"

"Huh? What was that?"

"…hina!"

"Who's there!?"

"Shiina!"

"That voice! Fujimaki!?"

"SHIINA!"

She jerked forward, her eyes shot opened, and her breathing was heavy. She could feel sweat pouring down her forehead. There was pressure on her shoulder, but she didn't look to see what it was. She already knew by the presence it gave off.

"Oh man, Shiina. Don't scare me like that." Fujimaki gave a sigh of relief as he realized his friend was okay.

"Where are we?"

"Relax. We haven't left the North sector at all. We just fell asleep because of that trap." Shiina's breathing steadily returned to normal before she finally took in her surroundings. Sure enough, they were still near the plaza to the north of the city in the Shadow World. "What do you suppose that was?"

"Some sort of air spread virus. Luckily, you got us away from it before we breathed in too much. A few more seconds and we might have both been killed…"

"So, wait! We can die in this world?" Shiina spit on the ground and wiped her mouth. "That's… attractive."

"I don't know if we can die without consequences, but it sure seems they think we can." She began to stand up, but was stopped in mid-stand by the sound of metal hitting against the ground below her. "Huh?"

"Hey… what's that?" Fujimaki and Shiina looked at the object which had fallen from Shiina's lap with keen interest, and where shocked by what it was. "It's a…"

Lying on the cold ground, was a shiny piece of golden metal.

"…key?"

* * *

Was that... on time... AND LONG.? I think it was... Yes, Fandom, this weeks Chapter is extra long. Word marks it at 4,965 total. I'm not sure exactly how this happened, but once I started writing, I couldn't stop. Anyway, this one was obviously Shiina's arc. Like with T.K., I didn't know what to call her when she was 'alive', so I went with a fan speculation name. I know Shiina comes form 'C7', don't worry. I know I said I'd delve into T.K.'s bandana thing this time, but I couldn't find a place for it... Sorry about that, but Yuri will definitely tell you next time. So - Until Next Time~

(Side Note: Shiina's Death Is Self Explanatory, Get Off Mah Back DX)


	14. The Operation Was A Success

Hello, Fandom! I'd like to tell you that sometime in the month to come, that Operation: Second Afterlife will be ending. We're in the final stages of the main story, and contrary to what they say, the show will not go on. That said, I will try... No. I _will_ make the last Chapters amazing, and have O:SA end with a lot of epicness! Fandom... Enjoy.

* * *

Yuri sat behind the massive desk inside the conference room of the new SSS Battlefront HQ building. Both of her elbows rested upon the oak surface, and her fingers were interlaced up at her chin, effectively hiding her mouth. However, if her hands weren't there, you could see a frown.

Sitting upon the desk, only a few inches away from her elbows, was a small piece of metal. It began as a simple, golden triangle that you could put your finger through. At the top of that was a large rod. Attached to the tip of that rod was a rectangle with jagged edges.

The person who had given it to her had told her something very disturbing about it.

"A key to a gate, huh?"

**Chapter 14: The Operation Was A Success**

"I wonder what's up with that?"

"What do you mean, Yuzuru?" Kanade and I sat together upon a large, out-of-style, yellow couch. When I say 'together', I mean we were so close that I could tell her breathing patterns. In response to her question, I lifted a finger and pointed at the tall boy with blonde hair lying on his back upon a two-person couch.

"Him. T.K. He always wears that bandana." I was referring, of course, to the red piece of cloth that he always had wrapped around his head. "The way he wears it, he looks like a delinquent."

"What's wrong with that? We all carried around guns in the School World, we _are_ delinquents."

"The idiot has a point, Otonashi."

"Speaking of which, how in the hell did we ever get away with that?"

"With what?" Noda managed to yawn out a question. It seemed he was bored of being unable to stand.

"You know, carrying guns and weapons around on school grounds. A few delinquent looking people like you, Fujimaki, and T.K. I can see getting by, but weapons? I mean, come on."

"It really shouldn't be any surprise, should it?" Without us knowing, Yuri had come out of the office room and was now leaning in the doorway.

"It shouldn't?"

"I don't think so, at least. Think about it. That wasn't real life; it was an afterlife. Most of the people there were merely NPCs, so they could only perform tedious tasks to make it all seem normal. They could reprimand us, sure, but it never went too far."

"In the time I spent in the School World before joining you guys, I could get away with anything I felt like doing, so long as Kanade didn't find out about it, of course." Naoi gave a small nod towards our general direction. "No matter what I did to an NPC, they wouldn't do much back, except for what they had been programmed to do. Things like cower in fear.

"It's the same way with us. The teachers and staff weren't programmed to give people expulsions or call police; that would defeat the purpose of that afterlife entirely. They can give detentions for fights, skipping class, whatever, but they aren't programmed for complicated stuff like handling guns."

"When I first came," Chaa, who also hadn't been in the room, was now speaking. "I held the principle hostage to try and find answers about the world and God, but he never once cried for help. He only sat there fidgeting in the ropes with a smile on his face."

"I guess that makes sense." I sounded bored, but it really did make a good amount of sense.

"Oh, and getting back on topic, I wouldn't move T.K.'s bandana if I were you." Yuri looked back at me with a serious face. "He might go ballistic."

"Why would he do that?"

"To answer that properly, I'd have to know what he went through before he came to the school. T.K. never spoke about it to anyone, not even Matsushita the Fifth."

"Well, here's the short version, anyway… When T.K. came to the school, he had this medical gauze bandage over his left eye. When Yuri reached out and took it off, saying 'there's no such thing as injuries here', he went spastic."

"He was crying on the ground, telling me that he couldn't let anyone see his deformed face… It was horrible. I think that… when he was alive… someone or something ripped his left eye out, and he was traumatized by it."

"In the end, Matsushita gave him that bandana and told him 'it was the last thing my Senpai ever gave me'. Talk about a boy-meets-boy scen- OW!" Yuri had walked up to Noda and slapped in the back of the head.

"In any case, he keeps it on for personal reasons, it'd be best to leave it at that." I sighed at the end of the whole little scene and looked down at Kanade, who was still leaning up against my shoulder. Her hand was in mine, and my free arm was wrapped around her back.

As I looked at her, I noticed her eyes beginning to close. The jumped back and forth for a short moment, so I guess she was trying to fight off the urge to sleep. In the end, she couldn't. Her eyes fell shut, and remained shut. It made me smile.

_'Looks like she can act normally even around the others now. That's good.'_ I found myself thinking that again. I thought it was good that Kanade was beginning to open up, but I shouldn't have. It isn't that I didn't want her too, but because I knew that it wouldn't last. After this mission, we were going to be reborn.

After we were done in that world, we would forget everything.

* * *

_Shadow City - North Plaza_

It was small, golden, and reflected the small amount of light that somehow found its way into the world covered by a think veil of darkness.

Its base was a thin square which was made out of simple golden rods soldered together. Attached to that, was a rod that was a bit thicker and went straight up for about 3 inches. On the tip of that rod, instead of on the side like it should have been, was a half circle with jagged edges inside.

It was something like a deformed key.

"What do you suppose… it opens?" Fujimaki and Shiina stared at it blankly, trying to fathom where it could've come from.

"This is so stupid." They were both dumbfounded, especially Shiina who most definitely didn't have it before she passed out. _'That dream… What was that about?'_

Shiina had relived the day she died while she was unconscious. Almost every aspect was the same, except for one distinct detail. A friend who she had subconsciously called 'Yukari', had the face, hair, body, and voice… of Masami Iwasawa, the ex-lead singer and guitarist for Battlefront's distraction band.

Needless to say, Shiina didn't know what to make of it.

"We've been here for… what? Half an hour? And nothing has come to attack us." Fujimaki bent over and grabbed the key. "I think our job here is done, so we should just head back." Shiina merely nodded and took a single step backwards. After she stepped, she disappeared in a flash.

Fujimaki's eyes opened wide as he realized that he had just been left behind by the female ninja.

"HEY!" He could only stand there in shock as she disappeared from sight.

Shiina moved along the tops of buildings with blurring speed. Each building was about the same height and only separated by a short gap, so there was need to put breaks in her speed. She hadn't intentionally left Fujimaki behind, but she felt there was some where she needed to be.

Thoughts raced through her head faster than her legs raced across the broken shingles. All of them concerning one thing - Masami Iwasawa. Shiina wanted answers.

But before she could even make it into the middle sector of the city, something hit her like a bolt of lightning. It was oddly similar to the feeling she got when the Shadows were approaching, but it was also distinctly different.

Her movements slowed, and eventually, it became too much. Shiina's will gave out, and her eyes closed. As they closed, she could feel herself falling down a gap between buildings, falling to the ground.

But before she could hit, she vanished.

* * *

_SSS Battlefront Main Room_

"I'm bored. Somebody entertain me."

"Dude. Shutup."

"…"

It was a boring bit of time in the new SSS Battlefront Headquarters. The happy-go-lucky dancer with blonde hair was asleep. Hinata was asleep too, and even if he wasn't Yui was unconscious so the hilarious sight of them putting each other into submission holds was halted.

Noda was still sitting in that chair with his elbow against the armrest and his head propped up on his fist. He wasn't in a lot of pain, but he wasn't in any condition to move.

Kanade was still leaned over against my shoulder, making cute noises in her sleep. I thought it was inaudible snoring at first, but they almost made words sometimes.

From the other room, I could hear the rustling and clanking of tools being used, meaning Takeyama and Chaa had resumed work on another weapon they were making from scrap.

From in the _other_ room, I could hear the faint clicking of keys on a computer going off at a rapid rate.

"I thought technology didn't work in this damned place." I glanced over at Noda, who had his eyes set behind him to look at the door to the conference room that Yuri was in.

"Well… That communicator that the fool found worked." Naoi still stood behind Noda's chair, not moving. "I think that the Shadow's presence broke things around them. Things that we created ourselves, like guns and computers, should work fine." Noda only mumbled some words in response like he didn't care that much.

"THAT'S IT!"

Everyone of in the room looked over at the door in shock, even Kanade who had been woken up by the loud scream. The door to the conference room shot open and our 'fearless leader' came bursting out with a smile.

"Hey! Where's Takeyama?"

"CHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST!" The boy who wore glasses shouted his 'name' from the back room, making all of us twitch.

"Come out here for a second!" As Yuri impatiently waited for him to come out, I looked over at Kanade who was staring at Yuri in shock.

"Did you enjoy your nap, Kanade?" Her head perked up at my voice, and she turned to lock onto my gaze. A slight blush formed at her cheeks and she nodded without speaking. "That's good."

"What do you want, Captain?" Takeyama came into the main room with grease covering his hands and face. All of his visible skin had been dirtied with grime except an untouched part around his eyes, meaning he had been wearing safety goggles. "I'm very busy."

"It's about your computer theory."

"Yes, what about it?" I didn't know what in the world they were talking about, and I was pretty sure nobody else in the room did either. Nonetheless, Yuri motioned for everyone to follow her into the conference room.

I sighed as I stood and offered my hand to Kanade. I was enjoying the small amount of peace we had in that room, and now we had to do work again. Kanade gladly took my hand and hopped off the couch.

Noda only grunted at us.

"You think I'm in any condition to move right now?" Yuri stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him with straight face. I kept walking right past her as she spoke.

"Alright then, just stay here." I heard a considerably loud tongue clicking, and then the sound of Noda moving from the chair. With the help of Ayato, he got into the conference room and sat down in Takamatsu's usual spot.

I took the spot on the couch where I usually sat and stretched my legs and arms out. Kanade took the spot right next to me and curled up on the cushion with her head against my side.

Ayato stood next to the arm of the couch that I sat on and crossed his arms behind his back.

Takeyama wiped his hands on his work clothes that matched Chaa's outfit and pulled his unstained glasses from his pocket. With one swift movement, they were on his face, and flashed a glare despite the lack of light.

"Takeya-"

"Christ."

"-ma. Hook up the computer to the main screen." He sighed at her order.

"Do you mind telling me what in the world this is about first?"

"I'll get to that, just do it." With a loud, obviously irritated groan, Takeyama walked over to the desk Yuri sat behind and turned the laptop screen to face him. With a few clicks of the keys, a large image appeared on the screen behind Yuri.

"Wait… I thought that the holo-screen wasn't up." Takeyama didn't look up from the laptop and responded to my apparently stupid question.

"I installed it earlier while you all were asleep, about ten minutes before T.K. arrived." I was amazed that he had been doing so much work all - what I presumed was a - day long. Just thinking about all that work made me yawn.

"Sorry about this, Ta-"

"Christ."

"-keyama, I know you're busy. But, I found out something that will be of use while messing with this program you built." At that, we all perked our heads up in interest. Even Kanade seemed to be intrigued. "So… check this out."

She started by explaining how Takeyama figured the system of afterlives worked. Apparently, it was like a computer program made up of files. The different folders were the different places, worlds, and sections of the entire afterlife system. And the people inside were files like pictures.

The reason behind the teleportation that had been happening to everybody was something along the lines of somebody dragging the 'files' we belonged to and putting them somewhere else.

There was something about Hinata forcing the 'system' to move his 'file', like he was a picture that just jumped to another folder while the computer was shut down. But, that apparently wasn't possible.

She then had Takeyama explain how there was a field of range that the 'computer' covers, and that it had been cut short.

It didn't really make a whole lot of sense to me, but Kanade seemed to understand it perfectly. I happened to glance over at Noda, who looked like he would have rather stayed outside. My only was thought was that this was the difference between people like me and Noda and people like Kanade, Yuri, and Takeyama. Or in other words, the difference between idiots and non-idiots.

"So… what is this _grand_ thing you found out, Yuri?" Noda seemed to ignore everything she had just said since his brain couldn't grasp it and just moved the conversation forward. I can't say I really blamed him.

"Well… If there really is a field of range for the folders, it means that the place Hinata got moved to was outside of this system's control. That, in turn, means that Yui wasn't inside of the field of coverage. That's why the world didn't just warp her _to_ Hinata in the first place."

"Yeah, I've grasped that much. Though the rest of this 'meeting' is completely whacked out."

"Shutup Noda." Yuri sighed in frustration, prompting Takeyama to ask the next question.

"So, what is it you found out, Captain?"

"Don't you get it? Saying that there's a 'field of coverage' that the system can control is like saying the owner of a computer doesn't have access to his own files!" Takeyama grunted in shock. I figured she was right. That wouldn't make very much sense. The conclusion I reached was the same as hers.

"So… what you're saying is that somebody else has control over these 'folders'?" She nodded and grinned.

"It's like a shared profile on a computer. Some of the files belong to the system, but some file belong to another entity."

"And that other entity… is the Shadows." Kanade had reached it before I did, but when I thought about it some more, I reached the same answer.

"…"

"Yes. That means that the Shadows have control over the system too. But they can't simply move their own 'files' into the 'folders' of the city, so they have to know how to get in, right?"

"They can cross through the gate!"

"… GRAH!" Noda gave no warning as he shouted. "THEN WHY ARE WE SITTING HERE DOING NOTHING!" He miraculously stood up and grabbed the edge of the coffee table before flipping it upside down. "We should be out there taking hostages!"

"Noda, SIT DOWN!" He stopped his rampage cold and grunted at Yuri's irritated voice. With his own irritation, he sat back down on the chair. Then, something amazing happened.

"Hey, can you morons keep it down in here?" We all turned our heads in shock at the familiar voice that came from the doorway. He stood there, seemingly out of breath from the short walk, and greeted us with a smile. "It's hard to sleep with you blabbing away in here. Ya know?"

"Hinata!" His smile grew wide as he limped inside of the conference. "Dude, I thought you weren't going to wake up for at least another three hours." I reached my hand back with a fist made, and he gladly but his own fist against it.

"Nah, I'm raring to go, man."

"Hinata." He turned his head to look at Yuri. "I need to ask you a question."

"If it's about that jump… I have no idea how I did it." Yuri's eyes opened wide, and she sighed. I could only guess that meant he was right. "I was unconscious, not asleep. I could hear you guys just fine. Though none of it seemed real. I'm guessing that's how you felt when you woke up, Otonashi?"

He was right about that. When I first 'woke up' in the particular afterlife, everything was black, but I could hear everyone's voices. In the end, it was Kanade's voice that brought me back to life.

"So… what now, Captain?" Takeyama shifted his glasses onto his face. "We know that they have a way to get through that wall, how do we use that?"

Yuri remained silent, and she entered her thinking mode. It reconfirmed my beliefs that we were a bunch of idiots. Especially me and Noda.

"…lp us!"

"Huh?" A noise around me made me jump. It sounded like somebody talking."

"Hey, Otonashi… What's up?" Hinata looked at me with concern, although he should have been the one to be concerned over.

"Don't you here that?" I stood up and began looking around the couch. "Some sort of voice…"

"A voice?" I could feel Yuri's gaze pierce my back as I got on my hands and knees. "What does that mean?"

"Don't be stupid, Yuri. It means the punk has finally gone nuts."

"It means I hear a voice… Sounds familiar." I kept hearing the voice, though I couldn't quite put my finger on who it was that the voice reminded me of. "Sounds like it's coming from under the couch…"

I slowly reached my hand under it and moved my arm from side to side until I finally hit something. It was hard, and seemed to be square when I grabbed it. As I slid it closer, I realized what it was.

"Oh, dammit. Hinata, it's just the communicator making noises." I began to slide out from under the couch, but before I got it into full view, I felt like everyone was staring at me with bewilderment. _So many stares... But why!?_

That was when it hit me. The communicator, which Hinata had been carrying around with him the whole time before the base was established, and hadn't made a single noise the entire time, had a voice filtering through it.

It was simultaneous, and everybody shouted it.

"NO FREAKING WAY!"

Within seconds, every one of them had crowded around me while a sat on the floor, looking intently at the large black box which served as a phone that needed no reception. With multiple amazed stares directed at the communicator, I pushed the button on the side.

"Please… Somebody! We're pinned down, we need help!"

"Irie, I told you that the damned thing is broken…"

"What if they can hear us, Sekine?"

"Look, let's j-" Static. That was all we were left hearing.

It ended with that. The transmission cut at that exact moment, and left us all with blank stares.

"Irie and Sekine…?" Noda sounded confused, but Yuri elaborated.

"The drummer and bassist… for Girls Dead Monster."

* * *

PLOT DEVELOPMENT. About time, huh? So, what is up with those keys? Are they really gate keys? And if they are, how does Battlefront use them!? And why am I asking YOU!? All answers will be given shortly! So for now, I say... Until Next Time~


	15. Girls Dead Monster

Fando~ m. Chapter 15. Enjoy.

* * *

She opened her eyes. It had been about two- no… at least three hours since she closed them. She mentally cursed herself for being asleep for so long and stood up.

She now stood in the middle of a large alley. The buildings around her were on the verge of collapsing. If they weren't, they were already completely destroyed. It looked like they had suffered from hundreds of years of constant rain, and were decaying at a rapid rate.

That was what the Shadows did to their surroundings. Their mere presence made inanimate object age faster, and simply killed living things like grass and trees. The more Shadows there were in a certain spot, the faster that aging and death would occur.

_'Damn… I must be pretty deep into the heart of the city if it looks like this. What were those three thinking!?'_

The female ninja with dark blue hair and a scarf to cover her neck looked around, searching for any source of human life. She didn't know where the three girls she was looking for were, but she could find them easily using her skills.

She had been warped, but from the looks of it she hadn't been put very close to where she was going.

_'That only means I'll have to search a little. Although it shouldn't be hard… I just have to find a place overrun with those Beasts.'_

**Chapter 15: Girls Dead Monster**

Yuri, Hinata, Noda, Takeyama, Ayato, Kanade, and I all crowded around the small black box in my hands and stared at it in amazement as the static noises came from the speaker that had just had the voices of the drummer and bassist for the Battlefront distraction band come from it.

It was… probably the most mind blowing thing to happen to us since we got to the Shadow World.

"You're telling me… that the people who left the communicator… are the missing members of the band?"

"I-I forgot all about them..."

"Me too."

"How did _you_ forget, Yuri?"

"Shutup Noda."

"Man, talk about bad leadership, Yurippe."

"God agrees."

"Mhmm."

"Indeed, Captain."

"Argh! I said shutup!"

"Can we just focus?"

As the antics of my friends went on behind me, I continued looking at the communicator that Hinata had been carrying with him for the longest time. For the first time, somebodies attempt to contact us had reached the other side. Although, we didn't seem to be able contact them back.

"Hey, can I see that?" Hinata's arm passed by me and grabbed the top of the communicator. "I'm just going to check something." I loosened my grip and the box slid out of my hand and into Hinata's grasp.

"Check what?" Yuri abruptly stop bickering with everyone else and Hinata began pressing down the 'send' button on the side. Apparently, he was going to try and talk with someone.

"I just remembered something Fujimaki told me… 'Take this when you get here and use it to contact us. We have the other communicator with us. Just press the button'…" The button made a click and static came from the speaker again. "'and say the Battlefront Headquarters passphrase'."

Everyone stopped fighting as he said that, and looked on in interest as Hinata put the speaker close to his mouth and spoke the words I heard on my first day with Battlefront.

"No God, No Buddha, No Angels."

As the last word came from his mouth, the communicator began to get louder and louder, until everyone was holding their ears to try and drown out the ear-piercing noise it gave off. It was like the thing was screaming.

"Ahh! Hinata, turn it off!"

"Wait!" Yuri stopped Hinata from pressing the button again. "Give it a minute!" I turned to look at Kanade, who wasn't even holding her ears. It seemed she didn't care that much.

_'Isn't it loud for her?'_

The static kept blasting through the speaker, and I saw Noda move out of the corner of my eye. He was reaching for the coffee table he had flipped over before Hinata walked in. I watched him grab the edges and begin to lift it.

"That is so…" As the end of the table reached his chest, the noise suddenly cut off, and everything went quiet. Everything except Noda, that is. "FREAKING ANNOYING!" The table flew from his hands, did at least three flips in midair, and landed perfectly on its four legs.

"Perfect throw, man."

"Noda. For the last time, calm down!" Yuri glared at him, and he instantly clicked his tongue and walked back over to his chair. "Hinata, try speaking to them." Hinata nodded.

"Hello? Is anybody there!? Somebody respond!" There was nothing. No voices, no response, not even static. Everyone sighed simultaneously and Hinata put the communicator down on the table Noda had just set upright.

"Now what do we do, Yurippe?" Yuri slowly walked back to her chair behind the desk and sat down, putting her feet up on the surface of the desk.

"Well. We know that the Shadows have a way of getting inside the gate; we also know that Irie, Sekine, and most likely Hisako are in trouble somewhere. Both of those things are important pieces of information."

"Exactly. We need to know what to do, that's why I asked."

"I believe that going after the remaining forces would be wise, Captain." Yuri nodded and closed her eyes as she went deep into thought.

"I agree, but there's a problem. With the communicator offline again, we don't know where the girls are. That means that we can't exactly go after them, now can we?"

"And even if we did know where they were, if it isn't _our_ job to rescue them, we'd have to walk." It was my guess that Hinata was trying to remind everyone that their jobs were already over, and that he didn't know how to force a jump again.

"What about Otonashi and Kanade?"

"Huh? What about us?"

"Did you guys get your jobs done?"

"Uh… No, but…" It was true that I was warped to the middle sector and ran to the Southwest sector when I heard gunshots, and Kanade had only come to help me and Matsushita, but I was tired. "Well what about you, Yuri?"

"Me? I've done my part."

"How so?"

"I got warped to the same school that T.K. did after I got separated from Takamatsu. I've looked over Yusa's map twenty times, and there's only one school and it's near the middle sector. Takeyama figured out that when T.K. warped away from the battle with 'Saito', it gave him a new mission; to finish what I missed."

"That just makes you sound lazy!"

"Does it? Well even so, what I need to get done was done by T.K."

"Yeah, and unless I'm mistaken, even Ooyama hasn't done anything."

"Nah, Ooyama was supposed to stay here and help me and Yusa."

"Can we not get off track!?"

"I don't know about all you morons," Hinata said, turning away, "but I'm going to go back out there and hold my girlfriend as I sleep. Cause I'm tired as all hell." He smiled a seemingly taunting smile and put his arms out to the side, slightly shrugging as he spoke. "My job is done."

"G-Girlfriend…?" I heard a small whisper come from next to me, and I glanced at the source of the voice. It was Kanade, and she was now mumbling something under her breath.

"Kanade?" He stopped her mumbling and looked at me in shock. "What's wrong?" I gave her a worried smile and she put a single finger to her chin as she watched Hinata walk out. The she turned back to me with a gaze that made her seem determined.

"Alright!" She clenched her fists and then grabbed the side of my jacket. Then she looked away and began pulling me from the couch.

"H-Hey! Kana… What are you doing?" I couldn't stop her from pulling me out the door. "Okay, I'll see you all later, then…" I waved at everyone as the probably stared at me with looks saying 'what idiots'.

Little did I know, I was right.

"What idiots."

_Shadow City - West Sector, Near The Middle Sector_

Shiina ran at full speed, heading towards a large group of… something. She wasn't quite sure what she felt, but it was _not_ something friendly.

The closer she got to the presence, the more her head hurt. But it wasn't some kind of pain like a headache… more like just someone lightly tapping her on the head over and over again. The closer she got, the harder the tapping was.

Because it wasn't very strong in the first place, it didn't stop the female ninja who felt it as she moved towards the presence.

_'I'm close…'_ Her target was getting ever closer with every single step she took, and she was taking a lot every second. _'It should only be a bit longer now. Just… hold on you three!'_

_Shadow City - Border of Middle and West Sector_

Gunshots rang out constantly from the ten story building. They came from the sixth floor, the third and fourth windows from the right. They were the gunshots of regular pistols.

The streaks of faded light that followed behind the bullets from each shot moved all the way down towards the ground. When each streak ended, they usually flew into stone road.

"Dammit! I can't hit anything!"

"Just keep shooting, Miyukichi!" The two girls shooting from the third fourth window bickered back and forth, while the third girl became increasingly irritated. "Look, there! You hit one!"

A vein under the brown hair of the girl working on a very complicated looking machine began to pulse.

"Yeah, but one out of every fifty is kind of annoying."

"It's not that…"

"WILL THE TWO OF YOU SHUTUP AND KILL THINGS!?" She snapped. As she yelled at them, they both sealed their mouths tightly and nearly fell out of their respective windows. "This is frustrating enough without the two of you morons blabbing away about nothing!"

"Geez, calm down Hisako." Hisako slammed a large wrench on the floor and turned to the girl with long, blonde hair in anger.

"I'd like to, Shiori. But you make it really hard!"

"S-Sorry, Hisako. We'll keep it down." The frown on Hisako's face gradually got smaller and she let out a large sigh as she picked the wrench back up.

"Look, just shoot those freaks."

"Right!" The girl with long, lavender hair smiled and turned back to her window, firing her pistol down at the wave of blackness down below.

"By the way, Hisako…" Sekine held her pistol in one hand and held it out the window. She proceeded to fire upon the same wave of blackness as she spoke to the other girl, who was working on the machine again. "Is that even almost done?"

"Well…" Hisako continued working on the object without looking back. "It would be a lot easier with somebody from the guild… Not like that's going to happen now, though…" There was the quiet clanking of metal, although it was pretty drowned out by the gunshots. "But it's going good right now."

_Shadow City - Border of North and Middle Sectors_

"Good God, you crazy chick…" A tall boy with short, brown hair walked down a random street holding a rather long piece of wood shaped into a sheath. The end of the sheath drug along the ground behind him as he lugged himself forward. "Who the hell knew that it could get so hot in a world without a sun?"

It had been like this since Shiina had run away from the North plaza. Fujimaki began to follow her after standing still for three minutes and staring at the direction she had went dumbfounded. But he realized after walking for ten minutes, that she was too fast.

Not only that, but it was extremely hot for some reason. So hot, in fact, that Fujimaki was sweating like crazy. It felt like the middle of summer, and was quite annoying.

"Where am I anyway?" He looked around, trying to find the massive towers of light that had been placed all over the South and Southeast sectors. Those lights symbolized where the new SSS Battlefront HQ was located. "Damn you, Shiina. Why'd you just take off like that?"

He yawned as he drug his Shirasaya along behind him. He felt like it was going to be a very long walk.

"Man… Where are those damned lights…!"

It came out of nowhere, and reached his right ear before it reached his left. The suddenness and sharpness of it made him jump, and cut his self-loathing off.

It was nothing more than a single, simple, gunshot.

_Outside the City_

"Hey, mister!" A tall boy with black hair turned to look at a young boy who had called out to him. He and the boy stood on a random sidewalk on the side of a random street in a city that didn't exist.

He knew that the boy, and everything else around him was fake. If he were to relax his sight, the entire world around him would collapse and he would be able to see below his own feet to the core of the afterlife.

That core… was where the Shadow Virus had originated from.

Despite knowing that it was all fake, he turned to the boy and smiled as he knelt over.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I was just thinking that you're wearing a strange uniform. I've never seen that one before!"

"Ahh, this? That's because this is my club's uniform. Only a few people are allowed to wear this."

"Oh! So which club is it for, then?"

"Hmm…" The tall boy put his hand to his chin and thought for a minute. "Oh, that's right. I'm part of the Battlefront club."

"Battlefront!? What's that!?" The kid asked him the innocent question in an amazed voice. His eyes were just about sparkling.

"Well, how should I explain it?" He reached up and adjusted his glasses before answering. "I guess you could say we're like a detention corps. We help out all those in need, and try to protect those we care for. I suppose you could say that Battlefront fights to protect your everyday life."

"Is that why your trapped in here?" The boy's facial expression didn't change. "Are you completely useless?" Takamatsu frowned and stood up, looking down at the boy who started to look up at him with the same smile. It wasn't a mocking smile; it was the smile of an innocent child.

"Is this what we're doing? Taking control of children to mock me? Very well, if you want to play this game…" Takamatsu stood and reached to his side, pulling his pistol from the holster under his jacket. "We'll play it all you want."

The pistol spun around on his finger, and he caught it so that the barrel faced the small child in front of him.

"So, mister. Are you _worthless!?_"

A gunshot rang out through the streets. But what the bullet struck was not the forehead of a young boy, like what Takamatsu was aiming at; it was a massive cloud of blackness that lifted into the air and faded away.

With a sigh, the boy with black hair and glasses shoved the pistol back into its holster and took a look around. He had just aimed a gun at a child, pulled the trigger, and the gun had went off.

But not a single person was paying any attention to him. Nobody even seemed to notice he was even there.

"Just so you know…" He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned away. "I won't waste ammo shooting all of these Beasts just because they approach me. But I won't just let it happen over and over."

_SSS Main HQ - Main Room_

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

"Grrrrrr."

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Get. At. It. Baby!"

"Will you please…"

"OH! Wild to heaven, baby!"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry man. My bad."

We all sat in the main room of our new headquarters. After Yuri dismissed the rest of the group in the conference room, they all came out here. Hinata was awake now, and Yui was sleeping with her head in his lap.

Kanade had taken to sitting in my lap, for whatever reason. When I asked her why that was the place she had chosen, she wouldn't even look behind her to face me, let alone answer.

Miraculously, T.K. had woken up and, in spite of his dislocated shoulder and near concussion, started dancing behind Noda's chair, since it was the only open space.

When Noda came out, he had a look on his face that said 'Oh, no. I'm going to kill him', and sure enough, T.K.'s dancing and English made him snap.

Ayato had followed behind Noda when he walked out, and he was sitting on the two person couch that T.K. had vacated to dance. He looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep.

Takeyama had actually left right behind me and Kanade and returned to the back room to where Chaa was. Now the two of them were busily working on some new weapon or something. Though I thought a new weapon was pointless since we had that massive light grenade launcher that had killed an entire Smasher.

Yuri was still in the conference room. Yusa had returned with a whole list of updated reports, so she was going over all of them. While she did, Yusa left again without a word to anybody else. She was a really anti-social girl even now.

"Man, I'm bored! There's nothing to freaking do!"

"Don't complain, Hinata. At least you would be able to do something if there was something to do."

"Hey, look at me. I fell down fifty meters in deep, dark, cave. It was a miracle I even survived that fall!"

"T.K. fell just about the same height, and he's up and dancing. I literally can't get up without help."

"Aw, yeah. I heard what happened to you, Noda. Pretty sad if you ask me.

"Yeah? Well I didn't ask you."

"God agrees with Hinata."

"I didn't ask _you_ either, you little brat!"

_Shadow City - Border of the Middle and West Sector_

The presence was large, overwhelming, and growing rapidly with every step. The pain fluctuated from intense to barely even there every couple of seconds. Multiple bursts of pain shot through, leaving as soon as they entered. All of this meant one thing.

Shiina was close.

So close in fact, that she would probably be able to hear the gunshots from the ten story building if the wind blowing by her didn't drown out all other noise.

Knowing she was almost there, the female ninja with a scarf that covered her neck and the bottom half of her face reached to her side and grabbed a short, black object. As she moved it forward, a small, diamond shaped blade appeared.

_'Just a bit longer… Please just hold on, you three!'_

Her feet kept slamming down upon the shingles of the decaying rooftops, but she ran so fast that they didn't have time to give out fall under her weight.

The sense of pain in her head finally ceased, and the great presence reached its peak.

_'Ten meters away, at least three per square foot, covering an area of about one hundred and four square feet overall. Estimated three hundred or more.'_

Her hand moved forward, and the small dagger she had been gripping flew from its holster. In a single movement, Shiina's arm swung around, the dagger fell from her grasp, and became nothing but a black streak as it moved through the air.

* * *

Until Next Time~


End file.
